Brent Crude Oiloil jumped after a day of choppy trading on Tuesday. The commodity traded at $107.20 at 3:30 GMT on Wednesday morning as geopolitical tension and hopes that the Chinese economy will pick up buoyed prices.
In Libya, oil exports have been depressed to less than half of their normal capacity for months because anti-government groups have taken control of some of the nation's largest oilfields.
The rebel groups are demanding more political representation as well as their own share of the nation's oil revenue. CNBC reported that on Tuesday, another large oilfield was shut down, taking Libyan exports down a further 80,000 barrels per day to 150,000 bpd.
Tension between the West and Ukraine also kept prices elevated after the Group of Seven issued a joint statement revoking Russia's membership from the international alliance. The world leaders met on Monday in an emergency meeting where they discussed the repercussions of Russia's actions. Energy ministers in the world's largest developed nations have agreed to cut back on their reliance on Russian oil and gas as policymakers work to deepen economic sanctions on Moscow.
Although the group left the door open for Russia to rejoin, Moscow will not be accepted until it backtracks on its decision to annex Crimea. So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no remorse for his decision, nor any disappointment at being left out of international decision making.
Moving forward, oil prices will likely hinge on Chinese policymakers as investors are hoping the nationo's government or central bank will make a policy change that will help kick start the Chinese economy. Recent economic data from the country has been disappointing and many are hoping that the nation's central bankers will use monetary policy to boost growth, which in turn would be positive for commodities.
BY Laura Brodbeck
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