Oil Slips From Highest Since Mid-2015 Amid Low Trading Volume

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures both slipped after the U.S. benchmark rose 2.7 percent on Tuesday, breaching $60 a barrel for the first time since June 2015. A pipeline run by Waha Oil Company that carries crude to Libya’s Es Sider terminal exploded Tuesday, reducing output by 70,000-100,000 barrels a day. The repair work will take about a week, according to people familiar with the situation. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is said to expect oil revenue to jump about 80 percent by 2023 to help the kingdom record its first budget surplus in a decade.

“The market is having a counter-reaction to the jump yesterday,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “It remains supported by the news out of Libya but at the same time liquidity is very poor.”

Output in Libya, where oil fields have endured sporadic shutdowns and disruptions due to protests, power blackouts and fighting, earlier this year peaked at just over 1 million barrels a day, the highest level in four years. Any drop in production due to the blast that occurred 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Sidra will ease pressure on OPEC-led efforts to drain a glut.
more at:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-27/oil-trades-near-highest-since-mid-2015-on-libya-pipeline-blast