Oil: an overview of the market situation

Oil prices rose today , while rising above $ 110 per barrel (Brent) and $ 97 per barrel (WTI), against a background of renewed concerns over supplies from Libya . As it became known , Libya failed to reach agreement with tribal leaders to put an end to the blockade of several oil-exporting ports. Libya has cut vital for her oil exports to 110 thousand barrels per day from 1 million in July due to the closure of ports and oil strikes , civil servants and local tribes in the fields . Western countries fear that Libya will slide into chaos due to the inability of the government to control armed groups that helped overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and did not lay down their arms .

But analysts warn Commerzban that the impact of negative news from Libya should not be overestimated , given that the country is currently producing only 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

Growth in oil demand also contributed to macroeconomic data from the U.S., which showed that industrial production in November rose 1.1 % compared with October, with growth forecast at 0.6%.

We also add that many investors are waiting for the Fed meeting . December 17-18 U.S. central bank ( Fed ) will hold a meeting at which may decide to reduce the volume of buying bonds to $ 85 billion per month. Such a step may cause an increase in the dollar, which adversely affect the prices of raw materials.

Not unimportant today were data from China , which showed that the expansion in China's manufacturing sector slowed down a bit in the month of December , as production growth is weak, and employment continued to decline even further.

According to the report, the purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector from Markit Economics fell in December to three-month low , namely, to reach 50.5 points compared to 50.8 points in November . However, despite this decline, the figure remains above the level of 50 points , indicating that the expansion of the sector .

The price of January futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to $ 97.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

January futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture increased by $ 1.78 to $ 110.55 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.