WTI refreshes 5-month tops near $ 63.50 amid Libyan fighting, OPEC cuts

• Escalating Libyan political tensions, US sanctions and OPEC cuts boost prices to fresh 2019 peaks.
•  A test of $ 65 due on the cards ahead of the US weekly supplies report.

WTI (oil futures on NYMEX) kicked-off the week on a positive note, extending Friday’s rally, and refreshed five-month tops at 63.53 last hour, as the renewed civil war in Libya intensified and triggered a threat to the country’s oil supplies.

The eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of Khalifa Haftar are fighting for the control of Tripoli, the country’s capital, leading to a rise in the death toll and displacements. The UN called for restraint on the infighting while the US urged Haftar to stop the offensive on the capital.

The sentiment around the black gold also remains buoyed by the renewed talks of the OPEC output cut extensions after Saudi Arabian Oil Minister AL-Falih said that the May meeting will be a key one to decide on the OPEC cuts extensions. Meanwhile, the US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela continue to remain a risk to the countries’ supplies and collaborate to the upbeat momentum in oil prices.

Markets now await the US factory data and the sentiment on Wall Street for the next push higher ahead of the US weekly crude supplies report due later in the week ahead.

WTI Technical Levels