09:00 AM EDT, 06/27/2022 (MT Newswires) -- Oi prices rose early on Monday as worries over tight supply more than offset concerns rising interest rates will tip economies into recession.
West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was last seen up US$0.30 to US$107.92 per barrel, while August Brent oil, the global benchmark, was up US$0.50 to US$113.62.
The rise comes as supply from Libya, which normally produces 1.2-million barrels per day, remains uncertain as political turmoil forces the repeated closure of oilfields and infrastructure. Reuters on Monday reported Libya's National Oil Company will halt exports from the Bay of Sirte within 72 hours due to the unrest.
Production from OPEC+ is also stalled, even as the group will meet on Thursday to approve quota increases of 648,000 barrels per day that few of its members can meet.
"The risks on the supply side have not gone away, as the latest production outages in Libya have shown. They are also likely to mean that OPEC's oil production in June did not increase any further, despite the expansion of supply that had been agreed," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said in a note.
Still, recession fears remain after the Federal Reserve and other central banks hiked interest rates earlier this month, with more expected to come as inflation runs at the fastest pace in 40 years, with slowing economies likely to reduce their call on supplies.
G7 leaders are meeting this week in Germany, with the group pledging to keep supporting Ukraine in its war against Russian invaders and mulling a price cap for imports of Russian crude, though its members have already moved to end imports.