Israel withdrew more soldiers from southern Gaza
Israel, Hamas send teams to negotiate potential ceasefire
Saudi Aramco hikes May crude prices for Asia
US added 2 oil rigs last week Baker Hughes

SINGAPORE, April 8 Reuters Oil prices slid more than 1 a barrel on Monday, with Brent falling below 90, as Middle East tensions eased after Israel withdrew more soldiers from southern Gaza and committed to fresh talks on a potential ceasefire in the sixmonth conflict.

Brent crude futures dropped 1.48, or 1.6, to 89.69 a barrel by 0615 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at 85.54 a barrel, down 1.37, or 1.5.

It appears the catalyst is Israel saying it has withdrawn all troops except one brigade from the Southern Gaza strip, likely in response to growing international pressure and to deescalate tensions after it killed senior Iranian commanders in Syria last week, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Aucklandbased independent analyst Tina Teng said This could be just a temporary pullback as the event did not offer any fundamental changes.

Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt for fresh talks on a potential ceasefire ahead of the Eid holidays, easing tensions in the Middle East that drove up oil prices by more than 4 last week on concerns of supply disruption.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that Israel is ready to handle any scenario that may arise with Iran, after Tehran threatened to retaliate for the killing of Iranian generals on April…