LONDON – Brent crude oil rose back above $100 on lingering concerns over political uncertainty in Egypt. North Sea crude for delivery in March gained 81 cents to$100.64 per barrel in London trade.
New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for March, edged two cents higher to $89.05. Prices rocketed above the key $100 mark in London last week for the first time in more than two years and went on to cross $103 as sentiment was hit by concerns over the impact of Egypt unrest on global energy supplies.
But the market ran out of steam as traders took profits amid weak jobless data in the United States, which is the world’s biggest crude consuming nation. The price of New York crude lags behind Brent owing to large supplies of oil remaining at the US port of Cushing, Oklahoma, according to analysts.
“The price of Brent has climbed above the $100 mark again this morning, after dipping below this mark in Friday’s late trading and closing below it due to profit-taking before the weekend after weaker-than-expected US labour market data,” said Commerzbank commodities analyst Carsten Fritsch.
