Oil trades near $49 a barrel as Libyan supply disrupted

Bloomberg

Oil traded near $49 a barrel as Libyan output and exports declined amid security threats
and a labor dispute in the port of Zueitina.
Futures fell 0.3 percent in New York after Friday’s 0.5 percent gain. Libya’s biggest oil field cut output by more than 30 percent, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday, while the head of a union said loadings at Zueitina ceased after employees demanded better working conditions. In the US, drillers added three crude rigs last week,
according to Baker Hughes Inc.
Oil fluctuated below $50 a barrel last week as investors weighed rising global supply against output curbs from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. The International Energy Agency reduced estimates for the amount of crude needed from OPEC through 2018 after lowering its assessments of demand in some emerging nations. In Libya, the Sharara field’s output has dropped
to 200,000 barrels a day, the person familiar said.
“After months of boosting oil production, Libya currently seems to be experiencing output disruptions,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. West Texas Intermediate for September delivery was at $48.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 16 cents, at 10:31 a.m. London time. Total volume traded was about 10 percent below the 100-day average. Prices rose 23 cents to $48.82 on Friday, trimming the weekly loss to 1.5 percent.