Tokyo - Oil prices were mixed in Asia on Friday on weak US demand and news that a terminal in Libya will resume production early next week, analysts said.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for December delivery, dipped four cents to $96.34 in mid-morning trade, while Brent North Sea crude for December rose three cents to 108.87 in volatile trade.
Kenny Kan, a market analyst with CMC Markets, said WTI prices remain weighed by weak US demand, reflected in a steady rise in crude oil inventories.
“The WTI crude prices had an accumulative decline near to 6.0 percent during its trade in October as the (US Energy Information Administration) report showed crude inventories increased to 383 million barrels as at the week ending October 25,” he said in a note.
News that Libya's Al-Harriga terminal will resume production next week kept Brent prices volatile, with analysts pointing to uncertainties.
The Al-Harriga terminal, which has a capacity of 110 000 barrels a day, has been closed along with several other terminals by protesters demanding jobs and a more equitable distribution of oil revenues.
Libya's National Oil Corporation has said it expects the terminal to resume operations on Monday at the latest.
Libyan crude production has been disrupted for several months by the labour unrest, and output slashed to as little as 300 000 barrels per day from 1.5 million-1.6 million before the showdown began.
Production had increased in recent weeks, but an uptick in protests has raised concerns about exports from the country. - AFP