SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : World oil prices remained steady near a two and a half month high in Asian trade Monday as a weak dollar and unrest in the MENA region continued to support it. Light sweet crude for May delivery was seen trading at $112.74 a barrel at 12.30 p.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $ 125.51 a barrel in London. Analysts however said the black gold is likely to ease during the day after reports of Gaddafi’s acceptance of the peace roadmap in Libya and the oil price has started to tick lower. Production in Libya, the world's 17th largest oil producer, has been severely affected as fighting between the government and rebels continue. At the moment, oil continued to take its momentum from interest rate hikes by China and the European Central Bank while heightened inflationary threats also prompted investors to look for hard assets such as oil, gold and other precious metals as hedges. The dollar has declined amid a battle over the U.S. budget that threatened to close the government last week. Other commodity prices were also boosted by the fall in the US currency, as a weaker dollar makes commodities cheaper for investors holding other currencies Futures climbed 2.3 percent to $112.79 on April 8, the highest since Sept. 22, 2008. Oil has gained 34 percent in the past year.

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