SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices see-sawed on Tuesday as investors fretted over tight global supply after Libya halted some exports and as factories in Shanghai prepared to reopen post a coronavirus shutdown.
Brent crude was down 88 cents at $112.3 a barrel at 0807 GMT, after rising more than $1 to $114.21 earlier in the session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 99 cents to $107.2 per barrel, after rising to $108.92 earlier.
Both benchmarks rose more than 1% on Monday after hitting their highest since March 28 on political crisis in Libya. The country said it could not deliver oil from its biggest oil field and shut another field due to political protests.
Fuel demand in China, the world’s largest oil importer, was expected to pick up as manufacturing plants prepared to reopen in Shanghai.
“For oil prices to take off on a sustainable trajectory, reopening mainland cities is necessary for translating into a sustainable economic rebound that supports oil demand,” Reuters quoted SPI Asset Management’s managing director, Stephen Innes, as saying.
OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley noted that markets in Asia seemed content to adopt a wait-and-see approach, reluctant to chase rallying prices any higher, according to Reuters.
“China’s growth concerns are capping gains,” Halley added.
