Oil prices are rising on Monday, traders are watching the situation in Libya, as well as the progress of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal.
Over the weekend, clashes between two armed groups took place in Tripoli, as a result of which more than 20 people were killed, Bloomberg reports. This raised fears that Libya is waiting for another full-scale conflict, as a result of which oil supplies to the world market will be reduced.
Iran, meanwhile, will continue to study US proposals for a nuclear deal until at least September 2, state news agency Nour News reported.
The cost of October futures for Brent oil on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:15 am CST on Monday is $101.88 per barrel, which is $0.89 (0.88%) higher than the closing price of the previous session. As a result of trading on Friday, these contracts rose by $1.65 (1.7%) to $100.99 per barrel.
The price of futures for WTI oil for October in the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $94.06 per barrel by this time, which is $1 (1.07%) higher than the final value of the previous session. By the close of the market on Friday, the value of these contracts increased by $0.54 (0.6%) to $93.06 per barrel.
As a result of the past week, Brent has risen in price by 4.4%, WTI – by 2.9%.
“Despite the hawkish stance of the world’s largest central banks, which means further hikes in interest rates and weakening economic growth, oil continues to rise in price as the balance of supply and demand speaks in favor of higher prices,” said James Whistler, managing director of Vanir Global Markets Pte in Singapore. “The possibility of OPEC production cuts remains, as Libya and Congo support the position of Saudi Arabia, while the problem of oil supplies from Kazakhstan also remains,” Bloomberg quoted the expert as saying.
