Oil up over Libya disruptions, US demand euphoria

ANKARA

Oil prices increased on Thursday over supply disruptions in Libya, escalating tensions in the region following the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Lebanon as well as positive demand indicators in the US.

The international benchmark crude Brent traded at $78.77 per barrel at 0727GMT, a 0.66% gain from the closing price of $78.25 a barrel in the previous trading session on Wednesday.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at the same time at $73.36 per barrel, up 0.90% from Wednesday's close of $72.70 per barrel.

Price upticks were spurred by the suspension of almost 300,000 barrels of oil per day after protesters in Libya shut down both El-Feel, a nearby oil facility, and Sharara, the country's largest oil field, due to high fuel prices and a lack of job opportunities in the country.

Rising tensions in the Middle East further fueled prices after Hamas' deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and six others were killed Tuesday in an Israeli drone attack in the Dahieh district of Beirut, referred to as Hezbollah's stronghold.

Strong demand expectations in the US, the world's largest oil-consuming country, also supported further price increases as the American Petroleum Institute late Wednesday announced an estimated decrease of 7.4 million barrels in US crude oil inventories against market expectations of a draw of 2.9 million barrels.

The US Energy Information Administration will release official data on oil stocks later on Thursday, and if the large stock decline is confirmed, prices could rise further.