MW: Crude slips as Libyan rebels capture oil towns
Investors monitor unrest in the Middle East and North Africa
By Polya Lesova and Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures traded slightly lower early Monday, as rebel forces in Libya captured key oil towns over the weekend.
Crude oil for May delivery (CLK11 104.67, -0.73, -0.69%) slipped 42 cents to $104.98 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract earlier hit an intraday low of $104.54 a barrel.
In regular trading on Friday, the May contract finished the session down 20 cents at $105.40 a barrel, but notched weekly gains of 4.2%.
“The rebels in Libya have regained the major oil ports of Brega and Ras Lanuf thanks to western support,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note. “This is clearly stirring hopes that oil shipments in Libya could normalize soon.”
Over the weekend, rebel forces opposing the rule of Col. Moammar Gadhafi took control of key oil installations on the Libyan coast, including Brega and Ras Lanuf. These gains for the rebels came amid ongoing international air strikes against the Gadhafi regime.
On Monday, coalition strikes hit Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown and a crucial target for the rebels, the BBC reported on Monday.
In London trade, May Brent crude dropped 41 cents Monday to $115.18 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. It earlier fell to an intraday low of $114.73 a barrel.
