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Brent holds near $106 after ample supply pulls down prices

Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 3:21 am
by Jhon Kumar
Brent crude held near $106 a barrel on Friday as ample supply continued to drag on prices a day after the benchmark posted its worst monthly performance since April 2013. Analysts expect global production to exceed demand this year, while a supply glut has built up in Africa and Europe. Brent crude was flat at $106.02 a barrel by 0322 GMT after a 5.6 percent drop in prices last month. U.S. crude futures for September delivery fell 13 cents to $98.04 a barrel, following a 6.8 percent decline last month, the biggest monthly loss since May 2012.
"Suddenly, people wake up and realise that even with the geopolitical risks in the world there is this surplus of physical crude," said Tony Nunan, a senior risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Still, Brent's forward prices have risen substantially on worries about longer term oil output in Iraq and Libya, he said.