Oil prices rise amid supply disruptions

New York, July 4: Oil prices edged up on Tuesday on rising concerns about an oil shortage amid supply disruptions in Libya. The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery increased $0.20 to settle at $74.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery was up $0.46 dollar to close at $77.76 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, Xinhua reported. Libya declared force majeure on exports from its two critical ports which together handle about 850,000 bpd of oil shipments, according to Reuters. Oil producers declare force majeure when forces beyond their control disrupt oil supplies. (IANS)