Oil prices surge over supply disruptions on Canada-US oil pipeline

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices rose on Friday following reports of a leak in the pipeline that transports crude oil from Canada to the US, disrupting nearly 600,000 barrels of oil per day.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $76.66 per barrel at 09.59 a.m. local time (0659 GMT), up 0.67% from the closing price of $76.15 a barrel in the previous trading session.

At the same time, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $72.02 per barrel, a 0.78% gain after the previous session closed at $71.46 a barrel.

During the previous trading session, both benchmarks fell to their lowest levels since December 2021, with Brent falling to $75.74 per barrel on concerns about a steeper Federal Reserve rate hike next week.

However, prices recovered on Friday after the Keystone Pipeline was shut down due to a leak discovered near the Kansas-Nebraska border.

Canada’s TC Energy confirmed the release of an estimated 14,000 barrels of oil as of late Thursday.

The Energy Information Administration reported that oil inventories fell by about 5.2 million barrels during the week ending Dec. 2, a larger-than-expected drop that should limit further price increases.

Over the same period, US gasoline inventories surged by 5.3 million barrels, limiting price upticks.