Oil Rebounds as Geopolitics, Demand Concerns Whipsaw Investors

(Reuters) – Oil rebounded on Wednesday after a sharp drop in the previous session ended a three-day streak of gains as investors have whipsawed between concerns about potential supply losses from Libya and the Middle East and worries about global fuel demand.

Brent crude futures were up 25 cents, or 0.31%, at $79.80 a barrel at 0209 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.23%, to trade at $75.70.

Prices are bouncing back from Tuesday’s more than 2% decline, which snapped a three-day streak of gains of more than 7%, as concerns about low refinery profit margins weighed on expectations for fuel demand amid data showing global consumption growth has been lower than forecast this year.

The market was also supported by industry data released late on Tuesday showing U.S. oil and fuel inventories fell last week.

However, the biggest risks remain the potential loss of supply in Libya, where about 1.2 million barrels per day of production may be shut in amid a political dispute between rival government factions, and an escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict to involve militants in Lebanon and forces from Iran, a key Middle Eastern producer.

Geopolitical risks continue to hover over the market,” ANZ analysts said in a note.

Several oilfields across Libya have halted output as closures spread, engineers said on Tuesday, amid a dispute over control of the central bank and oil revenue.

There has still been no confirmation of any closures from the Tripoli-based government, or from the National Oil Corp (NOC), which is in charge of oil resources.

However, engineers at the southeastern Amal and Nafoora oilfields told Reuters production had been halted, while engineers at Abu Attifel, also in the east, said output was reduced.

Fighting continued in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas militants, displacing Palestinians while there were few signs of a concrete breakthrough in ceasefire talks in Cairo.

The lack of progress in the talks is occurring at the same time Israel and Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah traded fire along the Lebanese border over the weekend.

Crude oil inventories fell 3.407 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 23 last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.863 million barrels, and distillates fell by 1.405 million barrels.

Later on Wednesday, weekly U.S. oil storage data is due from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)