AIRLINK 208.80 Decreased By ▼ -4.02 (-1.89%)
BOP 10.30 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.49%)
CNERGY 6.87 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.86%)
FCCL 33.58 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.33%)
FFL 17.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.59 (-3.34%)
FLYNG 21.90 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.37%)
HUBC 129.56 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (0.35%)
HUMNL 14.04 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (1.3%)
KEL 4.82 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.82%)
KOSM 6.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.01%)
MLCF 43.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.44%)
OGDC 215.69 Increased By ▲ 2.74 (1.29%)
PACE 7.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.69%)
PAEL 42.03 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (2.09%)
PIAHCLA 16.95 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (0.71%)
PIBTL 8.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.16%)
POWER 8.85 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.45%)
PPL 184.99 Increased By ▲ 1.96 (1.07%)
PRL 39.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.3%)
PTC 24.80 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.28%)
SEARL 100.00 Increased By ▲ 1.99 (2.03%)
SILK 1.03 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.98%)
SSGC 41.18 Decreased By ▼ -0.55 (-1.32%)
SYM 18.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.46 (-2.44%)
TELE 9.24 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (2.67%)
TPLP 12.63 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.85%)
TRG 67.11 Increased By ▲ 1.43 (2.18%)
WAVESAPP 10.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-1.09%)
WTL 1.84 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (2.79%)
YOUW 4.08 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (1.24%)
BR100 11,866 Decreased By -0.5 (-0%)
BR30 36,000 Increased By 303.3 (0.85%)
KSE100 114,038 Decreased By -110.8 (-0.1%)
KSE30 35,890 Decreased By -62.5 (-0.17%)

LONDON: Oil traded above $65 a barrel on Tuesday, within sight of its highest since mid-2015, supported by an explosion on a crude pipeline in Libya and voluntary OPEC-led supply cuts.

The move towards restart of a key North Sea pipeline, Forties, capped the rally. The pipeline is being tested after repairs and full flows should resume in early January, its operator said on Monday.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 10 cents to $65.35 a barrel at 1346 GMT. Prices hit $65.83 on Dec. 12, the highest since June 2015. US crude  added 12 cents at $58.59.

"The confirmation that Forties is coming back ....has the potential for capping Brent," said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix.

Trading activity was thin due to the Christmas holiday in many countries.

Oil turned positive following the explosion at the Libyan pipeline, which feeds the Es Sider terminal. It was not immediately clear what impact the blast will have on Libyan output, which has been recovering in recent months after being hampered for years by conflict and unrest.

Brent has risen 17 percent in 2017. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and other non-members, have been withholding output since Jan. 1 to get rid of a glut.

The producers have extended the supply cut agreement to cover all of 2018.

Iraq's oil minister said on Monday there would be a balance between supply and demand by the first quarter, leading to a boost in prices. Global oil inventories have decreased to an acceptable level, he added.

That is earlier than predicted in OPEC's latest official forecast, which calls for a balanced market by late 2018.

While the OPEC action has lent support to prices all year, the unplanned shutdown of the Forties pipeline on Dec. 11 pushed Brent to its mid-2015 high.

Forties plays an important role in the global market as it is the biggest of the five North Sea crude streams underpinning Brent, the benchmark for oil trading in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Rising production in the United States is offsetting some of the OPEC-led cuts.

The US rig count, an early indicator of future output, held at 747 in the week to Dec. 22, according to the latest weekly report by Baker Hughes.

 

 

Copyright Reuters, 2017

Comments

Comments are closed.