Brent and WTI oil futures are at their highest price since November last year.
DUBAI — A resurgence in fighting around the Libyan capital of Tripoli this week has driven U.S. forces to pull out of the country and is providing a new upside risk to global oil prices, underscoring the OPEC producer's importance to markets and the fragility of its supply.
The looming conflict follows a surge in crude futures in recent months on the back of tightening supply, with global benchmark Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate both rallying more than 20 percent since the start of 2019.A 75-year-old general who holds American citizenship, Haftar was formerly a Gadhafi ally but returned to Libya in 2011, after years in the U.S., to join the NATO offensive that toppled the dictator.
"The immediate barrels under threat would be those from the southwest which come up through into the west of the country, so that would be El Shahara field, a good 300,000, maybe up to 400,000 at immediate risk," said Paul Horsnell, global head of commodities at Standard Chartered. "So it would create and reinforce a spot price move to the upside and that $75 potential-plus range, but it wouldn't do anything at the back end," Currie said, which he sees at $60.
The latest supply disruption has been brewing for some time, serving as a reminder that the country's fragile recovery shouldn't be taken for granted.
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