LONDON, May 21: World oil prices rose on Monday as the market saw no end to concerns over tight supplies caused by unrest in key crude producer Nigeria and output disruptions at US refineries, traders said.
Brent North Sea crude for July delivery added 41 cents to $69.83 in electronic deals.
On Friday, Brent had soared to an eight-month high of $70.35 a barrel before closing down 85 cents as traders booked profits ahead of the weekend.
On Monday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, gained 11 cents to $65.05 a barrel in floor trading.
“Crude futures were a little firmer on Monday, supported
by further attacks and kidnappings in Nigeria,” Sucden analyst Michael Davies said in London.
Reports of an attack early on Monday by unidentified gunmen on France’s Total oil facility in Nigeria, an Opec member, added to instability.
Meanwhile Nigerian oil unions threatened Sunday to launch a strike this week to protest against the planned sale of two government-owned oil refineries to private investors.
Oil-rich Nigeria is Africa’s biggest producer, accounting for 2.6 million barrels per day of crude, but a quarter of that figure is currently lost to unrest in the restive oil-producing south.
Traders were also concerned about whether US refineries could meet gasoline (petrol) demand when Americans take to the highways during the holiday driving season which begins on the May 26-28 weekend.
Further price support this year would come from limited refining capacity in the United States, according to the Centre for Global Energy Studies, a London-based research body which published its monthly report on Monday.—AFP
