Oil delivery delays raise crude prices

Crude prices edged higher for a third session Monday as the shutdown of one of the world’s most important oil pipelines stretched into a second week.

Futures pushed toward $58 a barrel in New York. The owner of the Forties Pipelines System, a North Sea conduit that plays a central role in setting global crude prices, said Monday that it was still determining the best repair options for a crack that forced a halt to oil deliveries on Dec. 11.

Meanwhile, hedge-fund managers have amassed a record number of bullish wagers on London crude prices, creating conditions that could trigger a sell-off when the pipe resumes shipments, said Bob Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA.

“The only thing that’s holding the market here at these levels is the Forties problem,” said Yawger, Mizuho’s New York-based director of futures. “The potential is there for people to start bailing on the loaded-up speculative position. I would tend to think there will be a slow unwinding of these positions in anticipation” of the line restarting soon.

Oil is poised for about a 7 percent gain this year after production limits by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major suppliers eroded a worldwide glut. The effort to curb excess output could be dashed by U.S. shale drillers, who are forecast to lift American oil production to a record next year.