By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures edged higher in electronic trading on Friday, with investor attention once again focused on Europe and the outcome of key meetings to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
Crude for November delivery CL1X -0.15% added 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $86.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
Benchmark Nymex crude-oil lost 0.9%, to settle at $85.30 a barrel earlier in the North American session. See more on Thursday’s oil moves.
French and German leaders were due meet late Saturday in Brussels, in preparation for a wider summit of European leaders Sunday, to decide on a bailout fund to address the region’s debt woes.
On Wednesday, a further meeting with be held to formally approve the solutions agreed to at the summit. Read more analysis of the European summit.
The oil market was also evaluating the impact of the death of former Libyan dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi, who was killed by revolutionary forces in his hometown of Sirte late Thursday.
“The death of Gadhafi changes very little in the underlying dynamics of the oil picture on the ground,” strategists at Barclays Capital said.
Libya’s oil reserves are the ninth largest in the world, the bulk of which end up in Europe.
Brent oil, Europe’s benchmark oil futures, traded down 41 cents, or 0.4%, at $109.52 a barrel Friday on ICE Futures in London.
Libyan supplies were disrupted after war broke out in the nation earlier this year, but production has gradually ramped up as the fighting died down and workers could be safely sent in to repair damaged or neglected facilities. Read more on the outlook for Libyan oil
“We maintain our view that while Libya can bring on 0.5 to 0.6 million barrels per day of production by the end of this year, and potentially a little more by the first quarter, the road to the return to pre-war levels remains a treacherous one,” Barclays Capital strategists said.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
