Summary Oil prices rose slightly Monday as traders kept an eye on abundant US crude-oil supplies.
NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - Oil prices rose slightly Monday as traders hunted bargains after a series of losses while the market kept an eye on abundant US crude-oil supplies.
New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for December delivery edged up four cents to close at $94.62 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for December settled at $106.23 a barrel, up 32 cents from Friday's close.
"Crude is little changed, as bargain hunting balances follow-through selling" after Friday's plunge, said Tim Evans of Citi Futures.
The main WTI contract fell for the four previous sessions last week, under pressure from the continued build in US crude inventories. On Friday the contract tumbled $1.77, falling below $95 for the first time since June, while Brent plunged $2.93.
US crude-oil inventories have climbed for the last six weeks, to about 28 million barrels, raising concerns about weak demand in the world's largest economy.
"Essentially the market is thinking that supply will continue to be ample, at least sufficient to feed demand," said Bart Melek of TD Securities.
Melek said a lot of investors were "quite concerned" about an economic slowdown in the US because of the October 1-16 partial federal government shutdown that was estimated to have shaved $24 billion from the economy.
Citi's Evans noted that traders now seem "more focused on the possible recovery in Libyan oil production rather than the current low rate of production."
The Libyan state oil company said Monday that protesters had maintained their blockade of the main oil facilities in the country, where production has fallen 80 percent since July.
Mohamed al-Harairi, an official at the National Oil Corporation, told AFP that exports from Al-Hariga terminal in eastern Libya, which the government had said would resume by Monday, had not gone ahead for logistical reasons.
"Marketing procedures with clients are holding up the start of crude exports from this port," he said.
Harairi said that output from Al-Sharara field, which produces 330,000 barrels per day, had been blocked by residents of the southern region of Ubari since October 28.
Protesters demanding jobs have been blocking other terminals since late July, causing around $13 billion in losses to Libya's oil-dependent economy, authorities say.
