Brent Falls On Possibility Of Libyan Exports Resuming

Brent lost some ground on Wednesday after news that Libyan exports may resume in the near future. The commodity traded at $109.37 at 5:25 GMT on Wednesday morning as investors waited for more news about the OPEC supplier's status.

reported that protestors in Libya may allow oil exports from several ports to resume on December 15 if the Libyan government meets their demands.

The group, which has been calling for autonomy for Cyrenaica, is looking to profit from some of the nation's crude exports. Leaders of the group have said if the government does not comply, they will start selling crude on their own. Libyan exports have been depressed since July and kept Brent prices elevated. The north African nation's crude exports fell to 250,000 barrels per day, less than half of Libya's normal export capacity. Also weighing on Brent prices was weaker than expected global economic data, which signaled that demand may not pick up in 2014. Industrial production figures from China disappointed on Tuesday after the nation's trade data provided a glimmer of home at the start of the week. European data was also concerning as mixed data from eurozone nations highlighted the fragility of the bloc's recovery. Brent found some support from a weakening dollar after the greenback fell to a six week low against the euro on Wednesday. Investors have held onto speculation that the Fed will wait until 2014 to begin tapering despite surprisingly positive labor data out last week. Moving forward investors will be watching for US crude inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute. The number one oil consumer's stockpiles are expected to have fallen for the second week in a row.