Brent crude oil price moves above $103 on continued Egyptian tensions

ICE Brent crude oil futures are back over $103 a barrel this afternoon, pushed higher in part by continued tensions in Egypt that have had traders concerned about disruptions in Africa and their possible impact on global oil supplies.

Latest Brent Oil Price

In London, Brent crude oil futures for August 2013 delivery was trading at $103.56 a barrel, 16:39 GMT this afternoon on the ICE Futures Exchange, or 0.5 percent higher.

Tensions in Egypt

Protests in Egypt aimed at ousting Mohammed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president continued Monday. Traders are concerned that the tensions in Egypt and the civil war in Syria could affect the production and transport of oil supplies in the region.

Demonstrators gathered again Tuesday morning in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square, ready to voice their grievances against President Mohammed Morsi as Egypt gears up for another day of mass protests.

The demonstrators say they’re fed up with Morsi’s handling of the economy, and virtually every other aspect of his leadership.

There are lines for bread now in Egypt. There are lines for gas, and there are rolling blackouts. The vital tourism industry is all but dead, and the protesters say Morsi and his Islamist backers in the Muslim Brotherhood are to blame.

US Oil Inventories

Meanwhile, some analysts speculated that the higher price also reflects some traders expectations that weekly oil supply data out of the US due this coming Wednesday will show a sizable drop in crude inventories.

“We are looking for a total crude supply draw of around 3 million barrels per day in Wednesday’s EIA report but we wouldn’t be surprised by a significantly larger decline.” wrote Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates, in a note to clients.

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Brent crude oil price moves above $103 on continued Egyptian tensions