By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Crude oil futures rose in electronic trading Monday - but remained below $100 a barrel - amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and supply concerns.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery CL2G +0.22% added 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $98.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
Regular floor trading will resume on Tuesday, with U.S. markets closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.
The positive start to the trading week follows a 2.8% loss for oil last week, with prices pressured by a stronger dollar and an unexpected jump in U.S. oil inventories.
Supply concerns are expected to continue to dominate investor focus this week, including tensions over Iran’s nuclear intentions and oil output, as well as the potential for lower crude supplies in the wake of strikes in Nigeria.
A Reuters report Monday said Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and labor unions had failed to reach a compromise over the removal of fuel subsidies over the weekend, raising fears of a shutdown of the African nation’s oil industry.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer, with exports going largely to the U.S. and Europe.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
