Oil retreats on end to some supply woes, demand concerns from omicron

Oil flow restarts on pipeline carrying oil from northern Iraq to Turkiye's southern port of Ceyhan

2022-01-20 10:42:15

ANKARA

Global oil prices lost some gains on Thursday after hitting record highs on Wednesday that have not been seen since 2014.

International benchmark Brent crude hit as high as $89.17 on Wednesday, pushed by short-term, global supply disruptions.

On Thursday, Brent was trading at $88.30 per barrel at 0557 GMT for a 0.15% drop after closing the previous session at $88.44 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $85.92 per barrel at the same time for a 1.19% decrease after trade in the previous session ended at $86.96 a barrel.

Oil prices retreated after short-term supply disruptions were resolved; namely the resumption of the 1,876 kilometer-long key pipeline that carries crude oil from northern Iraq for export from Turkiye's southern port of Ceyhan.

The pipeline had been knocked offline by an explosion late on Tuesday for "unknown" reasons. However, it reopened after "all necessary measures were taken" and the fire was extinguished, Turkiye's state pipeline operator BOTAS said on Wednesday.

Further oil supply hazards came from in the Middle East when Yemen's Houthi group attacked oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier in the week and threatened oil supply in the region.

Another threat for supply chains arose when Russia, Ukraine and NATO stepped up military exercises from intensified tensions over recent weeks, with Kyiv openly accusing Moscow of planning an invasion.

Meanwhile, producers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are straining to meet their monthly quotas under the OPEC+ deal with Russia and its allies to add 400,000 barrels per day.

The rising number of daily omicron cases in major economies is also limiting upward price movements by raising the possible need to implement stricter measures.