Oil rises towards $56 — US drillers add oil rigs for 12th straight week
London — Oil rose towards $56 a barrel on Monday, supported by another shutdown at Libya’s largest oilfield, tension over Syria following the US missile strike and signs that an Opec-led supply cut is helping to clear excess supplies. Libya’s Sharara oilfield was shut on Sunday after a group blocked a pipeline linking it to an oil terminal, a Libyan oil source said. The field had only just returned to production, after a week-long stoppage ending in early April. "It means that at least one potential source of additional supply has fallen away for the time being," said Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank, referring to the Libyan outage. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 58 cents to $55.82 at 1.32pm GMT, not far from the one-month high of $56.08 reached on Friday. US crude was up 55 cents at $52.79. Oil also climbed on heightened tension in the Middle East, a region that is home to more than a quarter of the world’s oil output. Crude rallied last week after the United States fired mi...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.