MARKET NEWS
Oil Prices Slip From 2014 Highs, Supply Concerns Limit Losses - TVC 360
l slipped on Thursday as investors took profits following a month-long rally in prices, but strong demand and short-term supply disruptions continue to support prices close to their highest levels since late 2014.
Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, to $87.95 a barrel after falling more than $1 earlier. The global benchmark rose to $89.17 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest since October 2014.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for February delivery were down 6 cents, at $86.90 a barrel, after dropping nearly $1 earlier. WTI climbed to as much as $87.91 on Wednesday, the highest since October 2014.
The February WTI contract will expire on Thursday and the most-actively traded contract, for March delivery, is at $85.41 a barrel, down 0.5%.
However, the flow of crude oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has resumed, after it was halted on Tuesday due to a blast near the pipeline in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, officials said on Wednesday.
Supply concerns have mounted this week after Yemen’s Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Meanwhile Russia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, has built up a large troop presence near Ukraine’s border, stoking fears of invasion and subsequent supply uncertainties.