Oil edged lower as OPEC member Libya restarted production from its largest field, bolstering global supplies and outweighing concerns about tensions in the Red Sea that look set to continue disrupting shipping.
Global benchmark Brent dropped toward $78 a barrel, after a week of range-bound trading, while West Texas Intermediate was little changed above $73. Libya’s National Oil Corp. said flows from Sharara — which previously pumped about 270,000 barrels a day — will resume after a three-week stoppage.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, traders are expecting prolonged disruption to shipping in the Red Sea and Suez Canal as the US attempts to prevent Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen from attacking vessels. Military action to deter the assaults will take time, according to a Biden administration official.
Crude has struggled for direction this year — rising and falling on alternate weeks — as the impact of the crisis in the Middle East is balanced by expectations that oil markets will remain amply-supplied. Last week, International Energy Agency highlighted increases in production outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, while demand growth slows. – Bloomberg
