Escalation in Libya casts shadow on oil markets

Oil prices rose on Monday, driven by fighting in OPEC member Libya, plus OPEC production cuts and US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.
The world benchmark Brent crude at $ 70.62 a barrel, up 0.4% from the last closing price, while the US WTI increased 0.5% to $ 63.39 a barrel.
“OPEC’s current production cuts and US sanctions on Iran have been the main drivers of prices since the beginning of this year,” said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at brokerage firm FXTM.
“But the last batch came from the upsurge in fighting in Libya, which threatens further disruption of supplies,” the expert said.
Source: Reuters