Brent Rises Toward $112 On South Sudan Conflict

Brent crude rose to 112 dollars a barrel last Tuesday as conflict in South Sudan threatened its oil output while production cuts in Libya curbed supply.

Traders also kept watch on a strike in France that had shut a third of the country’s refinery capacity.

Brent rose 22 cents to 111.78 dollars a barrel, while WTI (West Texas Intermediate) climbed 13 cents to 99.04 dollars.

NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) trading closed an hour early on Tuesday.

South Sudan’s production had fallen by 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 200,000 bpd after oilfields in Unity State shut down due to fighting.

“As the year ends, the risk of an all out civil war that could stymie the country’s production of around 250,000 barrels a day is growing,” said a JBC Energy report.

The disruption to Sudanese oil supply added to Libya’s production cut of more than one million barrels per day as its key oil ports stay shut.

WTI crude is up 7.5 per cent for the year, narrowing its gap with Brent which widened to almost 20 dollars earlier this year.

Meanwhile, more pipelines diverted oil away from the contract’s delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, reducing a supply glut.

Traders will be scouring U.S. oil inventories data to gauge supply.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell for the fourth straight week last week, while gasoline inventories saw a preliminary rise, a media poll of analysts showed on Monday.

EIA (Energy Information Administration) will publish its data on Friday at 11:00 a.m. EST due to the closure of the Federal Government on Wednesday for Christmas.