Oil up 2% on Libya Shutdowns, Mideast Escalation Fears

Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Oil up 2% on Libya Shutdowns, Mideast Escalation Fears

Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Oil prices rose 2% on Monday on news of fresh production outages in Libya, adding to earlier gains on concerns that an escalating Gaza conflict could disrupt regional oil supplies.

Brent crude futures climbed $1.64, or 2.08%, to $80.66 a barrel by 1041 GMT, while US crude futures were at $76.38 a barrel, up $1.55, or 2.07%.

Prices jumped after Libya's eastern-based Benghazi government announced the closure of all oil fields on Monday, halting production and exports.

"The biggest risk for oil market is probably a further drop in Libyan oil production due to political tensions in the country," said analyst Giovanni Staunovo of Swiss bank UBS, Reuters reported.

Oil prices opened the week higher after Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones into Israel on Sunday and Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a larger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.

The clash raised fears of wider conflict in the region.

"Geopolitical risk factors will likely influence the oil market significantly," said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at OANDA in Singapore.

Monday's gains follow from both oil benchmarks gaining over 2% on Friday after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell endorsed the start of interest rate cuts.

"The prospect of easing monetary policy boosted sentiment across the commodity complex," ANZ analysts said in a note.

Investors remain cautious over the actions of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, or OPEC+, which has plans to raise output later this year, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.



Oil Climbs on Mideast Escalation Fears, US Rate Cut Expectations

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
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Oil Climbs on Mideast Escalation Fears, US Rate Cut Expectations

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant

Oil prices extended gains on Monday on fears a major spillover in fighting from the Gaza conflict into the Middle East could disrupt regional oil supplies, while imminent US interest rate cuts lifted the global economic and fuel demand outlook.

Brent crude futures climbed 37 cents, or 0.5%, to $79.39 a barrel by 2300 GMT while US crude futures were at $75.19 a barrel, up 36 cents, or 0.5%.

"Israel's pre-emptive strike on Lebanon over the weekend to prevent an imminent attack from Hezbollah should ensure a stronger open this morning as (WTI) crude looks to extend its rally initially towards $77.50, before $80.00," IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note, Reuters reported.

Both oil benchmarks gained more than 2% on Friday after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell endorsed an imminent start to interest rate cuts.

"The prospect of easing monetary policy boosted sentiment across the commodity complex," ANZ analysts said in a note, adding it expects the Fed will implement a progressive series of rate cuts.

Still, oil prices were down last week as a poor outlook for major economies weighed on fuel demand, the bank added.

The US Energy Department said on Friday it bought nearly 2.5 million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The number of operating US oil rigs were unchanged at 483 last week, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report.