Brent crude declined below $104 a barrel today, hitting a nine-month low despite the latest developments in Baghdad.
Reuters reported that September Brent crude fell 69 cents to $103.99 a barrel while US crude declined 68 cents to $97.40 a barrel.
Iraq has appointed Haider al-Abadi as its new prime minister to end the eight-year rule of Nuri al-Maliki; however, Maliki has declined to resign and deployed special forces in Baghdad, calling the decision a violation of the constitution.
While steady supplies have helped to maintain confidence, the news agency noted that signs of disruption to Iraq’s oil supplies may lift oil markets, as seen in mid-June when fighting in the country, and in Ukraine and Libya, took Brent to above $115 a barrel.
Oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan remains unaffected despite insurgence by Islamic State militants in the autonomous region’s border.
Exports from Iraq’s southern oilfields were about 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in July 2014, despite violence in other parts of the country.
A spokesman for Libya’s National Oil Company said on Monday that all oilfields were secure and the country’s oil production is at around 450,000 bpd, down from 500,000 bpd two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, tensions between the West and Russia on Ukraine have also failed to affect oil markets for now.
