BS: Oil prices continue to rise on Libyan violence
After easing back at the beginning of the week, brent crude oil prices climbed closer to two-and-a-half year highs this afternoon as Muammar Gaddafi vows to continue to fight against his own people for control of Libya.
Brent crude for April rose to US$116.02 a barrel.
One top official in Libya warned that oil could rise to over US$130 a barrel if violence persists in the North African State, which produces 2pc of the world’s oil.
Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, told Reuters that production had dropped from 1.6bn barrels per day to just 700,000.
Ghanem added that the Libyan people were hoping the Gaddafi regime does not use oil as a political weapon.
Saudi Arabia confirmed last week that it could cover any holes in supply created by the problems in Libya. However, Oil prices surge as markets fret over the possibility of contagion in the Middle East. Anti-government protests have been held in Yemen, Oman, Iran and Iraq over the past three weeks.
