Crude Oil Prices Edge Above $99

On Thursday, Oil prices had edged up above $99. This was the first trading day after Christmas. This happened just as South Sudan began to show concern about the country’s oil production as reported by the Associated Press.

It is pertinent to note that benchmark United States oil for February delivery was up 17 cents to $99.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract had inched up 31 cents to close at $99.22 on pre-Christmas Tuesday after briefly dropping below $99.

Oil prices had gained nearly three per cent last week as optimism about the US economic recovery lifted expectations for the country’s energy demand.

Worries over instability in South Sudan have led some analysts to predict the contract may top $100 a barrel for the first time since mid-October. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council voted to increase UN peacekeeping forces in conflict-torn South Sudan by nearly 80 per cent.

Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, was up 11 cents at $112.01 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London.