Oil prices eased on Monday after rebels in Nigeria withdrew a threat to target oil operations, but lingering concerns over stretched supplies kept prices close to $50. US Light crude slid 57 cents from Friday’s record settlement price of $50.12 and by 11.45 GMT was trading at $49.51 a barrel, barely a dollar below record highs hit last week. London’s Brent crude fell 63 cents to $45.99 a barrel. Prices eased as oil companies considered returning evacuated workers to Nigeria’s oil-producing delta region, following a peace deal signed by a rebel militia on Friday. Meanwhile, Qatar, the smallest producer in the OPEC, said on Monday that the OPEC cartel had done all it could to cool prices. ‘‘OPEC members have done everything we can to cool down the market and we will do everything we can do,’’ said Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said in Tokyo.
