WTI slumps to fresh seven-week lows below $57
|- Oversupply concerns weigh on crude oil prices on Wednesday.
- US calls for oil production in Libya to resume.
- Coming up: Weekly API crude oil stock report.
Despite the fact that Libya's National Oil Corp hasn't yet started to resume oil production after closing the ports of Hariga, Brega, Sidra, and Ras Lanuf under force majeure on Monday, oil prices came under strong selling pressure amid concerns over supply surplus.
Regarding the situation in Libya, "we are deeply concerned that the suspension of National Oil Corporation (NOC) operations risks exacerbating the humanitarian emergency in Libya," the US embassy tweeted out on Tuesday. "NOC operations should resume immediately."
IEA sees excess oil supply in first half of 2020
The barrel of West Texas Intermediate, which rose to $59.60 on Monday, dropped below the $57 mark for the first time since early December on Wednesday and was last seen trading at $56.65, losing 2.7% on a daily basis.
Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), noted that they were forecasting a surplus of one million barrels per day during the first half of 2020 to trigger a selloff. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman last week refrained from suggesting that the OPEC+ output cut could be extended after March.
Later in the day, the American Petroleum Institue will release its weekly crude oil stock report.
Technical levels to watch for
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