(From marketwatch.com) Crude futures rallied Monday, with the Brent benchmark topping $104 a barrel, as violent political unrest in Libya raised worries about a potential disruption in oil supplies from the North African nation.
April Brent crude rose $1.80, or 1.8%, to $104.32 a barrel in morning trading on the ICE Futures exchange. It earlier hit an intraday high of $104.60 a barrel.
“Everybody is looking right now at Libya, because it’s a significant oil producer,” said Christophe Barret, global oil analyst at Calyon in London.
“That is the main factor supporting prices,” he said. “And then you have the unrest continuing in other countries [in the region.]”
A wave of pro-democracy demonstrations has swept the Middle East and North Africa after protests led to the toppling of the long-time rulers of Tunisia and Egypt. The countries that have seen demonstrations in recent days include Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Morocco.
Read more here: Oil jumps above $100 a barrel as Libya tensions rise