Title: Oil firms as investors focus on supply drop from Russia, Libya

Apr 21, 2022 02:50AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Oil prices rose on Thursday as fears of a possible ban on Russian oil supplies by the European Union (EU) came to the fore after reduced supplies from Libya rocked the market a few days ago.

At 02:36 AM ET, Brent crude futures were up $1.32, or 1.24%, at $108.12 a barrel. Futures contracts for U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil gained $1.26, or 1.23%, to $103.45 a barrel after rising 19 cents in the previous session.

Analysts said market volatility is likely to resume soon as the EU is still considering a ban on Russian oil imports over the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation."

Libya, an OPEC member, said on Wednesday it was losing more than 550,000 barrels of oil a day due to blockades of key fields and export terminals.

China's demand outlook continues to weigh on the market as the world's largest oil importer slowly eases the tight COVID-19 restrictions that have hurt production activity and global supply chains.

The International Monetary Fund warned of the risks in China when it cut its forecast for global economic growth by almost a full percentage point on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Black Sea terminal of the Caspian Gas Consortium could return to full capacity this week, Kazakh Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said on Wednesday.

The oil market remains tight as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, led by Russia, struggle to meet their production targets and U.S. crude inventories fell sharply in the week ended April 15.