Oil prices slipped slightly today oversupply concerns prompted by fears of widening West Asia conflict. In the global crude market, Brent crude was trading 0.52 per cent down to trade around 81 dollars per barrel. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is also trading 0.53 per cent down at around 74 dollars per barrel when reports last came in.
Brent crude futures were down 36 cents, or 0.4%, at $81.07 a barrel by 1130 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $77.02.
After the jump in oil prices on the back of geopolitical risk in the Middle East and a production halt in Libya, market participants are now holding back to assess further developments, said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
The 7% rise in Brent and 7.6% rise in WTI in the previous three sessions bucked a broader downtrend since hitting its 2024 peak of $91.17 in April. The downturn was driven by concern over global crude demand, particularly from China and through the summer, which is typically a peak demand period.
In Libya, the El Feel oilfield output, engineers told Reuters on Tuesday. On Monday, authorities in the country’s east, where most of its oilfields lie, threatened to halting production and exports, after a flare-up in tensions over leadership of the country’s central bank. Those fields are responsible for almost all the country’s 1.17 million barrels per day of crude output.