(MENAFN) Oil prices dropped on Thursday after the cease-fire deal in the Middle East which reduced supply worries between traders, whereas a stronger US dollar and worries that increasing taxes might interrupt the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) attempts to combat inflation added additional downward tension.

The global oil benchmark of Brent crude declined 0.5 percent to USD71.92 per barrel at 11.03 a.m. local time (0803 GMT), a drop from the prior session's end of USD72.32.

The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also declined by 0.5 percent to USD68.26 per barrel, compared to USD68.60 at the previous session's end.

Oil prices dropped on the anticipation that the Israeli government's ratification of a cease-fire deal with Lebanon, targeted at closing through 14 months of war with the Hezbollah group since the onset of the Gaza conflict, might shape the way for further de-escalation in the state.

Egyptian Leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi encountered in Cairo with Qatari Premier Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani throughout which they "affirmed aspiration to building on the cease-fire deal to arrive to a comprehensive calm in the state, based on a statement published by the Egyptian presidency.

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