Brent Below $103 As Geopolitical Tension Eases

Brent crude oil began the week below $103 as oversupply worries continued to drive prices. The commodity traded at $102.55 at 8:15 GMT as investors watched supply concerns ease in Iraq and Libya increased its output.

Libya has been slowly regaining control of its major oil ports after protestors shut them down for nearly a year. The nation’s National Oil Corp announced that oil exports were up to 535,000 barrels per day on Sunday, a more than 100,000 barrel increase from the beginning of last week. Although the Libyan government has made great strides to unify the nation and restart many of its oilfields, the process has been slow. Libya is still working up to its normal output capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day.

The tension in Iraq also eased over the weekend as the US carried out a second round of airstrikes in the North. Kurdish forces moved to retake the nation’s largest dam from Islamic militants on Sunday, backed by the US’ air support.

Worries about escalation in Ukraine also subsided over the weekend as Ukrainian forces continued with their push to end the pro-Russian rebellion in the east. Reuters reported that Ukrainian forces took back the city of Luhansk on Sunday, something the nation’s government has said could be a key part of regaining control of the entire country. 

Meanwhile, talks between Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine in Berlin continued as the four looked for a lasting solution to end the fighting in Eastern Ukraine. On Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that some progress had been made, though no agreement has been reached.