BLBG: Oil Rises After Report Iranian Forces Surrounded Iraqi Well
By Margot Habiby
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Oil rose after reports that Iranian forces entered Iraqi territory early yesterday and positioned tanks around a well in a region south of Baghdad.
Crude climbed as much as 2.8 percent as Zafer Nazmi, a border guard general, said Iranian forces occupied well number 4 in the East Maysan field in al-Fakah region located 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Baghdad. His comments couldn’t be verified independently.
“True or not, the market reacted to it,” said Tom Bentz, a senior energy analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York. “When traders are short and something comes out like that, and the fear is there that something could develop, what do you do? You cover your positions and go from there.”
Crude oil for January delivery rose $1.89, or 2.6 percent, to $74.54 a barrel at 9:18 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, it touched $74.69, the highest since Dec. 7.
To contact the reporter on this story: Margot Habiby in Dallas at mhabiby@bloomberg.net.
