LONDON: Oil edged further above $60 (£39) per barrel as unrest in Libya cuts supplies, offsetting a growing supply glut in top consumer the United States and weak imports by Japan.
A state oil company said on Thursday fighting in Libya has cut output there to 352,000 barrels a day, or about half November’s average. This countered the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) report showing a big stockbuild.
Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, said Libya is a supportive factor Switzerland. The fighting in Libya is starting to be more and more about a battle for the oil resources and this will not end well.
Brent crude LCOc1 was at $60.50 at 1230 GMT, up 26 cents, while US crude CLc1 added 32 cents to $56.16 in thin trade as many countries are still on Christmas holiday.
In Libya, a rocket set a storage tank at the country’s biggest export terminal, Es Sider, on fire as armed factions allied to competing governments fought for control, officials from both sides said on Thursday.
