Oil rises to near $103 as Libya conflict escalate
Alex Kennedy, The Associated Press, Singapore | Fri, 03/04/2011 4:11 PM
Oil prices rose to near $103 a barrel Friday in
Asia as Libyan government and rebel forces dug in amid fierce
fighting, raising investor fears of protracted oil output cuts in
the OPEC nation.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 92 cents at $102.83 a
barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 32 cents to settle
at $101.91 on Thursday.
In London, Brent crude for April delivery was up $1.01 to $115.80
a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
On Thursday, rebels bolstered defenses around Libya's
second-largest oil refinery in Brega while government fighter jets
bombed nearby the Mediterranean port city. Libyan leader Moammar
Gadhafi's regime apparently has stepped up its recruitment of
mercenaries from other African countries, with an official in
neighboring Mali saying that 200 to 300 men have left for Libya in
the last week.
President Barack Obama reiterated calls for Gadhafi, who has been
in power for 41 years, to resign and leave the country.
Analysts say oil prices could stabilize if the political upheaval
that has swept through North Africa and the Middle East doesn't
spread to other crude-producing countries. About 1 million barrls a
day of Libya's 1.6 million capacity has been shut down because of
the crisis.
"As long as it does not spread to the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar or
Saudi Arabia or worsen in Bahrain, Yemen or Iran, oil supplies from
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait should be able to make up shortfalls in
Libya," Cameron Hanover said n a report.
Traders will also be closely watching the February jobs data due
to be released by the U.S. Labor Department later Friday. Analysts
are forecasting the economy added about 175,000 jobs last month as
the economy slowly recovers from the 2009 recession.
In other Nymex trading in April contracs, heating oil rose 1.7
cents to $3.07 a gallon and gasoline gained 0.9 cent to $3.04 a
gallon. Natural gas futures were down 1.7 cents at $3.76 per 1,000
cubic feet.
