Oil Price Rises After Nigerian Rebels Attack Shell Platform

Crude Oil rose above $70 a barrel attack by Nigerian militants closed a field operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, further cutting production from Africa’s largest producer.

The move followed a 2 percent gain on Thursday and put oil on course for a 4 percent gain this month, buoyed by prospects for an economic recovery that has lifted prices from below $40 over the past four months.

The release of the June consumer sentiment index by the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers at 1355 GMT was expected to reflect a mildly improving outlook for the U.S. economy, auguring well for ailing world energy demand.

By 1216 GMT, benchmark August U.S. crude oil CLc1 was up 3 cents per barrel at $70.26, having hit a high of $71.29, up $1.06. London Brent LCOc1 rose 2 cents to $69.80.

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crude Oil above the $70 a barrel again !!!

Oil Rises a Second Day on Shell Pipeline Attack, Equity Gains

By Ben Sharples and Christian Schmollinger

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for a second day, trading above $70 a barrel after militants attacked a Royal Dutch Shell Plc pipeline supplying an export terminal in Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, said it disrupted operations at a pipeline supplying Shell’s Bonny terminal. Oil also advanced as U.S. equities gained the most in three weeks and the U.S. dollar declined against the euro.

“The factor supporting oil is the situation in Nigeria, where militants again have claimed to attack oil industry infrastructure,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “It seems to have intensified and I suspect it’s something that’s helping keep the oil price at that higher level.”

Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as 54 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $70.77 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $70.61 a barrel at 10:06 a.m. Singapore time.

Yesterday, the contract rose $1.56, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $70.23 a barrel. Oil has gained 1.5 percent this week after falling 3.5 percent last week.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 32.21, or 0.3 percent, to 9,828.29 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo.

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