U.S. crude oil futures surged 3% on Monday following reports of a production halt in Libya and heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. Libya’s eastern government in Benghazi announced a shutdown of oil production and exports due to a conflict with the internationally recognized western government in Tripoli over central bank leadership. Consequently, the U.S. benchmark for crude hit a session high of $77.60 per barrel, its peak since Aug. 16.
On Monday, energy prices were as follows:
– West Texas Intermediate (WTI) October contract: $77.19 per barrel, up $2.36 or 3.15%. Year-to-date, U.S. crude has risen 7.7%.
– Brent October contract: $81.17 per barrel, up $2.15 or 2.72%. Year-to-date, the global benchmark is up 5.3%.
– RBOB Gasoline September contract: $2.30 per gallon, up 2 cents or 0.94%. Year-to-date, gasoline has increased by 9.6%.
– Natural Gas September contract: $1.95 per thousand cubic feet, down over 6 cents or 3.36%. Year-to-date, natural gas has fallen 22.3%.
Libya, which produces around 1.2 million barrels of oil per day and exports over 1 million barrels, faces potential significant impacts on the global market due to its production halt. Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler, stated that the force majeure in Libya could majorly influence global markets, and U.S. crude would likely benefit the most as Europe seeks American shale oil to fill the gap left by Libya.
Adding to the market volatility, Israel launched extensive airstrikes in Lebanon on Sunday to deter Hezbollah from launching missile attacks. This escalation followed Hezbollah’s retaliation for the killing of one of its senior commanders in July, further intensifying regional tensions. The Middle East remains tense, following the assassinations of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut and a Hamas leader in Tehran, with Iran threatening but not yet acting on its promise of retaliation against Israel.
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Original Story https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/26/crude-oil-prices-today.html
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