Global oil prices hit 2015 peaks on Wednesday as fresh tensions in oil producer Libya raised concerns about a supply disruption in the Middle East, analysts said.
The market was meanwhile awaiting the latest snapshot of oil inventories in the United States, which is the world’s top crude consuming nation.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in June rallied to a five-month pinnacle at $62.08 per barrel. It later stood at $61.99 in midday trade, up $1.59 from Tuesday’s closing level.
Brent North Sea crude for June jumped to a similar high at $69.15, before pulling back to $68.92, up $1.40.
“Geopolitical concerns in the Middle East continue to form a firm base for oil prices, be it Libya, Yemen or Iraq,” CMC Markets analyst Nicholas Teo told AFP.
Media reports on Tuesday said protests in Libya had shut oil deliveries to a port in the east of the country.
Fighting since 2011 in OPEC member Libya has seen output reduced from a high of almost 1.5 million barrels a day to around 150,000 a day, according to analysts.
Oil prices have in recent weeks also gained some support due to ongoing strife in Yemen, whose coast forms one side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait through which some 4.7 million barrels pass each day.
Analysts said dealers are awaiting the latest US crude stockpiles report for clues to the state of production.
Oil prices rose last week after the US Department of Energy’s inventory report showed a 500,000 barrel drop in petroleum stocks to 61.7 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma trading hub, the first such decline since late November.
Traders took the decline as a sign producers are cutting back at key US petroleum sites, raising hopes this could pave the way for an easing of a global supply glut.
Overall US crude inventories likely rose by 1.5 million barrels through May 1, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
Source:Ahram Online
