Öl wird stabil gehandelt; steigende libysche Produktion gleicht Versorgungssorgen aus

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Crude oil prices traded steady on Monday amid investor bets that supply will continue to be squeezed by some producers‘ pumping limits, while an increase in Libyan supply added pressure to the market.

* At 1016 GMT, Brent crude was giving up 20 cents, or 0.24%, to $85.85 a barrel, after touching its highest since Oct. 3, 2018, at $86.71.

* Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 5 cents, or 0.06%, at $83.87 a barrel, after touching $84.78, its highest since Nov. 10, 2021.

* A buying frenzy for crude driven by limited supply and signs that the Omicron variant will not be as disruptive as feared for oil demand has pushed some grades of hydrocarbon to multi-year highs, suggesting the upside in Brent futures could be more sustained over time, traders said.

* „Bullish sentiment continues as (producer group) OPEC+ is not providing enough supply to meet strong global demand,“ said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd.

* The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, are gradually relaxing production cuts implemented when demand collapsed in 2020. However, many smaller producers are unable to raise their pumping and others are cautious in case there are further setbacks with COVID-19.

* Libya’s total oil production returned to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the National Oil Corp. Last week it hovered around 900,000 bpd due to a blockade of its western fields.

in Tokyo and Roslan Khasawneh in Singapore. Edited in Spanish by Carlos Serrano)