Oil hovers near 2-month lows as Iran, Libya target higher exports

Oil prices at both the sides of the Atlantic trades near 2-month lows as Iran and Libya target exports.

At the time of writing, Brent oil and WTI oil traded flat on the day around $44.75/barrel and $46.30/barrel respectively.

The concerns of excess supply made a comeback after a senior official at state-run National Iranian Oil Co said the country plans to double crude exports so long as the rise in shipments is absorbed by global markets. Meanwhile, Libya is seeking to reopen its oil ports and restore output.

The drop to two-month lows this week is also being attributed to chart based selling. Technical sellers came in after futures breached key support levels.

The focus today is on the American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly inventory data. This will be followed by government data due tomorrow. A Reuters poll forecast total US crude stocks fell 3.3 million barrels during the week to July 8.