Mubasher: Oil prices on Thursday rose, regaining some of their earlier sharp losses following Libya’s announcement that it would resume crude exports.

US Nymex futures added $0.25 to $70.63 per barrel (pb) from their last close where it fell 5%, while global Brent crude futures rose $1.37 to $74.77 pb from the last session, before retreating again to nearly $74.50 pb, after plunging $5.46.

On late Wednesday, oil prices were supported by the news of a drop in US crude inventories by 12.6 million barrels in the week ended 6 July, the lowest level since February 2015, owing partially to an outage of 2.1 million barrels in stockpiles at the Cushing in Oklahoma delivery point.

Libya’s National Oil Corp announced that four crude export terminals would be opened again, ending a standoff that locked in most of the country’s output, allowing 850,000 barrels per day (bpd). Analysts said that the news largely weighed on oil prices on Wednesday.

Moreover, an escalating trade spat between Washington and US was another catalyst for the falling prices, as it raised the spectre of a curtailed global growth and lower energy consumption, most specifically in emerging economies.

By 9:01 am GMT, US Nymex futures rose 1.01% to $71.09 pb, while Brent crude futures climbed 2.06% to $74.91 pb.