Oil prices drop despite market fears driven by Saudi missile attacks

Oil prices dipped on Tuesday after a brief spike in the cost of crude sparked by a suspected Iran-backed Houthi attack on Saudi energy facilities over the weekend.

Brent futures fell by 6 cents, or 0.7 percent on Tuesday morning after rising to $69 a barrel on Monday after it became clear that oil supplies had not been disrupted following the missile and drone strikes.

"Crude prices are declining as the strong dollar trade shows no signs of weakening," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, told Reuters.

The spike in prices on Monday comes after oil installations in eastern Saudi Arabia were attacked on Sunday.

The US said it would help bolster Saudi's air defences in the wake of the attack - which resulted in no casualties - describing it as a "genuine security threat" to the kingdom.

Oil cartel OPEC and Russia also agreed last week to keep outflows to current levels despite rising prices.

Prices have also been affected by a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, which the US Senate recently approved, which should bolster the economy, Reuters reported.