Brent Steady With Supply Worries In Focus

Brent crude oil prices were up toward $107 on Tuesday morning as renewed supply worries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe supported prices.  The commodity traded at $106.75 at 5:20 GMT as violence in some of OPEC’s largest suppliers reignited concerns about a supply interruption.

Though a recent agreement between rebel groups and the government suggested that the nation was headed for smoother sailing, Libya saw some of its worst violence in six months on Monday as rebel groups fought for control of the nation’s largest airport. The news that an aircraft had been damaged and several soldiers were killed came just days after the Libyan government regained control of one of its largest oilfields and restarted production.  The incident at the airport reminded investors that Libya still has a long way to go before seeing any type of stability.

Meanwhile a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine looked to be slipping further away on Monday after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reiterated his claims that the Russian military was supporting the pro-Moscow separatists fighting in the eastern part of the country. Poroshenko also accused the Kremlin of supplying the rebel groups with a state of the art missile system, which they have been using against Ukranian forces.

Also supporting prices is speculation about talks between six world powers and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. The group is looking to come to a permanent agreement by July 20 that will curb Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for eased sanctions on the nation’s oil. However, the talks looked to be falling apart on Monday after CNBC reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader made a public address saying that the nation needs to increase its uranium enrichment capacity. The statements directly contradict world powers’ requests for the nation to cut down on such processes to reduce the risk of nuclear bomb making.