(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
Oil prices firmed in choppy trade on Thursday as concerns about
supply due to a potential European Union (EU) ban on Russian oil
came to the fore, days after diminished supplies from Libya rocked
the market, Trend reports with reference to Reuters .
Brent crude futures rose 97 cents, or 0.91%, to $107.77 a barrel
at 0437 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
gained 86 cents, or 0.84%, to 103.05 a barrel, adding to a 19 cent
gain in the previous session.
Analysts said market volatility is likely to pick up again soon,
with the EU still weighing a ban on Russian oil.
'EU discussions to ban or phase out Russian oil purchases, the
biggest influence on crude prices in recent days, are on the
back-burner but not settled yet, which may limit crude prices to a
relatively narrow range on a daily settlement basis,' said Vandana
Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
Libya, a member of OPEC, on Wednesday said the country was
losing more than 550,000 barrels per day of oil output due to
blockades at major fields and export terminals.
The demand outlook in China continues to weigh on the market, as
the world's biggest oil importer slowly eases strict COVID-19 curbs
that have hit manufacturing activity and global supply chains.
Meanwhile, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's Black Sea terminal
could return to full capacity this week, Kazakh Energy Minister
Bolat Akchulakov said on Wednesday.
'The resumption of CPC crude deliveries will be somewhat offset
by continuing outages in Libya and the likelihood of more Russian
crude getting locked out of market in face of an EU ban,' Hari
said.
The International Monetary Fund highlighted risks in China when
it cut its forecast for global economic growth by nearly a full
percentage point on Tuesday.
However the oil market remains tight with the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia,
together called OPEC+, struggling to meet their production targets
and with U.S. crude stockpiles down sharply in the week ended April
15.
'There is not much incremental news overnight, with a trajectory
from here really hinging on whether other nations join the UK/U.S.
in banning Russian oil imports,' SPI Asset Management managing
director Stephen Innes said in a note.
Tags:
- European Union
- oil prices
- Libya
- OPEC
- Russia
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