Oil suffers moderate losses in Asia amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty

Oil prices at both the sides of the Atlantic are trading moderately lower in Asia as investors assess the economic and geopolitical impact of the failed coup in Turkey.

At the time of writing, Brent futures were down 27 cents or 0.60% at $47.70/barrel. WTI futures were marginally lower around $46.60/barrel.

Prices had jumped on Friday in late NY trading on speculation a military coup in Turkey and the resulting geopolitical uncertainty could affect supplies. However, experts believe in the short-run there is no such risk.

Nevertheless, traders are likely to adopt a cautious approach as heightened regional uncertainty could not only affect supplies, but could also add to growth concerns and result in a strong dollar.

Turkey news overshadowed Baker Hughes data released on Friday which showed the number of oil rigs in the US increased by six last week to 357, the third straight weekly gain and the sixth increase in seven weeks.