Crude oil rises on new Libyan output concerns, U.S. trade data
Published Jan 07, 2014 01:08PM ET
Investing.com - Oil prices snapped a five-day losing streak on Tuesday, rising on better-than-expected trade data out of the U.S. while concerns that Libyan output is still far away from normal levels also boosted the commodity.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in February traded at USD93.98 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, up 0.59%. New York-traded oil futures held range bound between USD93.36 a barrel and USD94.16 a barrel.
The February contract settled down 0.56% at USD93.43 a barrel on Monday. Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at USD93.22 a barrel, Monday's low and resistance at USD94.58 a barrel, Monday's high.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to USD34.25 billion in November from a revised deficit of USD39.33 billion in the previous month.
Economists were expecting the U.S. trade deficit to widen to USD40 billion.
U.S. exports rose 0.9% to a record high of USD194.9 billion, while imports fell 1.4% to USD229.1 billion.
The numbers sent oil prices gaining by fanning hopes for the U.S. economy to gain steam and demand more oil and energy down the road.
Elsewhere, new Libyan concerns boosted prices as well.
Oil prices have fallen in recent sessions on expectations for Libyan production to approach normal levels and add to global supply.
Libyan oil operations faced glitches in the recent past due to protesters disrupting production at various oilfields, and expectations for the country to possibly double its output to around 600,000 barrels per day soon pressured prices lower in recent sessions.
On Tuesday, however, reports that the Libyan Navy warned it would destroy ships attempting to load oil a seized terminals sent prices gaining.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for February delivery were up 0.67% to trade at USD107.45 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at USD13.8 a barrel.
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Written By: Investing.com
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