Oil futures were little changed on Monday after falling sharply last week, with Brent hovering around $105 a barrel amid concerns over the supply disruption in conflict-hit Libya.
The selling pressure seems quite evident in today`s choppy trade, where the prices of oil is trying rebound from the sharp losses incurred last week, with worries about global oversupply amid escalating violence in the Middle East and North Africa -- which took the oil benchmarks to a four-month low in in the previous session.
As of 03:44 a.m. ET:
- West Texas Intermediate for September delivery rose 0.23% to $98.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange
- Brent Oil for September delivery rose 0.22% to $105.07 a barrel on the ICE Exchange in London
Although geopolitical risks seem to be fading, the oil markets still fear further escalation in the OPEC-member Libya, where heavy fighting between the factions seeking to control Tripoli airport has escalated over the weekend, leading to a huge fire blazing nearby the city`s fuel airport.
on Saturday, the main fuel depot in the capital Tripoli has been set ablaze after rockets fired by one of Libya`s armed groups struck and ignited a tank, the state-owned National Oil company (NOC) said.
Libya is an OPEC member and holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa.