Crude Oil Rises Further to 4-Month High
Crude oil rose past $105 per barrel on Tuesday, the highest in over four months, on mounting curbs to supply from the Middle East and fresh setbacks on Libyan output. Saudi Arabia closed its East-West pipeline following attacks from Iraqi territory. The strikes suspended activity in infrastructure that was allocating 7 million barrels per day of Saudi oil to the Red Sea, an alternative to halted shipments through the Persian Gulf due to the Iranian blockade on tankers. The prolonged halt of tanker flows from the region forced major OPEC members to cut oil production, with Saudi output recently dropping to its lowest since 1990. Meanwhile, Libya suspended activity in several oil fields and warned it could declare force majeure as protests by the Petroleum Facilities Guard shut off the Hamada-Zawiya crude-loading pipeline. Dwindling stockpiles of oil in China drove the major importer to raise orders in August, while the US SPR stands at a near record low.
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Brent crude rose past $108 per barrel on Tuesday, the highest in over four months, on mounting curbs to supply from the Middle East and fresh setbacks on Libyan output. Saudi Arabia closed its East-West pipeline following attacks from Iraqi territory. The strikes suspended activity in infrastructure that was allocating 7 million barrels per day of Saudi oil to the Red Sea, an alternative to halted shipments through the Persian Gulf due to the Iranian blockade on tankers. The prolonged halt of tanker flows from the region forced major OPEC members to cut oil production, with Saudi output recently dropping to its lowest since 1990.
Meanwhile, Libya suspended activity in several oil fields and warned it could declare force majeure as protests by the Petroleum Facilities Guard shut off the Hamada-Zawiya crude-loading pipeline. Dwindling stockpiles of oil in China drove the major importer to raise orders in August, while the US SPR stands at a near record low.