“Brent crude was little changed near its highest in four days as a North Sea pipeline system remained shut. Venezuela, OPEC’s fourth-biggest producer, announced the death of President Hugo Chavez.
Futures fluctuated, having climbed by the most in a month yesterday. Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on state television that Chavez died at 4:25 p.m. at a military hospital in Caracas. The Brent pipeline system has been shut since an oil leak was discovered March 2 on the Cormorant Alpha platform. U.S. crude stockpiles rose 5.6 million barrels last week, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed.
“There’s still positive sentiment, risk appetite is still high,” said Filip Petersson, a commodities strategist at Stockholm-based bank SEB AB, who estimates that a fair value for Brent would be $105 a barrel. “There’s plenty of crude out there at the moment.”
Brent for April settlement was at $111.40 a barrel, down 22 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 12:20 p.m. in London after advancing as high as $112.23. The volume of all futures traded was 68 percent above the 100-day average. Prices gained $1.52, or 1.4 percent, to $111.61 yesterday, the highest level since Feb. 27 and biggest increase since Feb. 8. The European benchmark grade’s premium to WTI futures was little changed at $20.63.
WTI for April delivery was at $90.64 a barrel, down 18 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 38 percent below the 100-day average.
