WTI breaks below $69.50 due to potential resolution of Libyan dispute

• WTI price loses ground due to indications that a political dispute in Libya, may be coming to an end.
• Libya's two legislative bodies agreed to jointly appoint a central bank governor, easing the conflict over Oil revenue.
• Oil prices fell as the Institute for Supply Management showed that US manufacturing remained sluggish.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil price extends its losses for the second successive day, trading around $69.40 per barrel during the Asian session on Wednesday. The drop in crude Oil prices is driven by the potential resolution of a political dispute that has halted Libyan exports and concerns over slowing global demand growth.

Reuters reported that Libya's two legislative bodies agreed on Tuesday to jointly appoint a central bank governor, potentially easing the conflict over control of the country's Oil revenue that sparked the recent dispute. The potential agreement to restore the Oil supply could result in more than 500,000 barrels per day returning to the market.

Market sentiment was further dampened by data from the Institute for Supply Management, which showed that US manufacturing remained sluggish, despite a slight improvement in August from an eight-month low in July. The US ISM Manufacturing PMI inched up to 47.2 in August from 46.8 in July, falling short of market expectations of 47.5. This marks the 21st contraction in US factory activity over the past 22 months.

The world's biggest crude importer China showed that manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low in August, with factory gate prices dropping significantly. This has prompted Chinese policymakers to push forward with plans to increase stimulus for households.

Additionally, Oil prices are under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) plans to increase production in the coming quarter. OPEC+ is poised to move forward with a planned increase in Oil output starting in October. Eight OPEC+ members are set to raise production by 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) next month.