Oil prices slip, shored up by Libyan tension
The price of Brent North Sea quality for July delivery fell by 59 cents to $109.95.
PARIS (AFP) - Oil prices slipped back on Monday in thin trading, with markets in London and the United States closed for a holiday.
But prices were underpinned by tensions in oil-producer Libya and by uncertainty over the situation in Ukraine following a presidential election there.
The price of Brent North Sea quality for July delivery fell by 59 cents to $109.95 and a barrel of benchmark WTI light sweet crude for July was down 25 cents at $104.10.
"This amounts to a slight correction in response mainly to election results in Ukraine where voting went relatively calmly and did not lead to big surprises," said Natixis bank raw materials analyst Lysu Paez-Cortez.
She commented that "it is now possible to envisage a return to calm in the east of the country".
Ukraine sits across routes for the export of Russian oil and gas towards Europe, and the situation there remains a matter of concern to traders. A power battle and a tense situation in Libya was also a matter of concern to the market.
"For several weeks, the markets have begun to anticipate the return of Libya but the government s reassertion of control over ports held by rebels has taken longer than expected and recent events have raised new doubts," she said.
On Friday, the price of a barrel of light sweet crude for July delivery had gained 61.0 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex)to $104.35.
In London, a barrel of Brent North Sea oil had closed with a rise of 18 cents to $110.54 on the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE).
