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Anonymous ID: 9cbfd4 April 8, 2019, 6:40 p.m. No.6103188   🗄️.is đź”—kun

Oil prices hit highest in five months as Libya fighting tightens supply

 

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices on Tuesday reached their highest since November as concerns over exports from war-torn Libya stoked tightness in the market, with global supply already hit by OPEC-led production cuts and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.

 

International benchmark Brent futures touched their strongest level since last November at $71.34 per barrel on Tuesday, and were still at $71.16 at 0057 GMT, up 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close.

“Renewed fighting in Libya … has seen Brent crude break above $70 per barrel,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

Libya is a significant supplier of oil to Europe, producing around 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in March.

 

A warplane attacked Tripoli’s only functioning airport on Monday as eastern forces advancing on the Libyan capital disregarded international appeals for a truce in the latest of a cycle of warfare since Muammar Gaddafi’s fall in 2011.

 

Hansen said the fighting in Libya added to an already tense market, which has been tightened this year by U.S. sanctions on oil exporters Iran and Venezuela as well as supply cuts led by the producer club of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

 

As a result, Brent and WTI crude oil futures have risen by 41 and 31 percent respectively since the start of the year.

 

Saudis Emerge From Khashoggi Crisis With $75 Billion Orders

 

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, has received $75 billion in orders for its debut bond sale, kickstarting an offering with yields likely to fall in line or below Saudi Arabia’s sovereign debt.

It’s rare for bonds of a state-owned company to yield less than the sovereign debt and the demand reflects intense investor appetite for high-quality paper. For Saudi Arabia and Aramco itself, the early success in selling the bonds marks a tremendous turnaround after investors, Wall Street bankers and corporate titans briefly shunned the kingdom last year following the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The U.S. has blacklisted 16 Saudi nationals for their role in the Khashoggi murder, according to a statement Monday. The crisis, along with sliding crude prices, hit the kingdom late last year and in early 2019, with the economy slowing down and investors taking money out of the local stock market. Now, the situation appears to be reversing, helped by oil rising to more than $70 a barrel, up from $50 in December.

As part of its debut in the global debt market, Aramco has offered bonds in six portions, from three to 30 years, according to the people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Aramco is expected to raise between $10 billion and $15 billion, with final pricing and size anticipated on Tuesday afternoon London time.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-08/aramco-offers-6-part-debt-as-oil-giant-makes-dollar-bond-debut

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-prices-hit-highest-in-five-months-as-libya-fighting-tightens-supply-idUSKCN1RL03J?il=0

https://www.dailyfx.com/crude-oil