LONDON (AFP) – Oil prices rose on Monday, buoyed by the closure of a key pipeline carrying crude to the United States and strong Chinese industrial data, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, gained 74 cents to 77.19 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery advanced 26 cents to 78.42 dollars in midday London trade.
The September 9 shutdown of the Enbridge pipeline which transports crude from Canada to the US mid-west following a leak was supporting prices, analysts said.
The pipeline provides 670,000 barrels per day or one third of Canada’s oil exports to the United States.
«Although the leak … was stopped on Friday, the line needs to be excavated to locate the leak’s precise position, and there’s no firm timetable yet for getting it back into operation. Disruption of crude supply is inevitable,» said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates.
Strengthening Chinese industrial output also supported prices, said Victor Shum, an analyst at Purvin and Gertz energy consultants.
«Chinese industrial activity is shifting up and that is certainly bullish for the market,» he said.
Official figures released Saturday showed China’s industrial output gathering pace, rising 13.9 percent on year in August compared with 13.4 percent in July.
«With this weekend’s positive Chinese data adding to the already positive sentiment from last week, concerns over the state of the global economy is receding further,» said Bjarne Schieldrop, analyst at SEB Commodity Research.