Oil prices rose to above $106 a barrel on Monday in Asia as investors worried intense fighting between Libyan government forces and rebels suggested the OPEC nation faces a prolonged cut to its crude exports.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was up $1.69 to $106.11 a barrel, the highest since September 2008, at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $2.51 to settle at $104.42 a barrel on Friday.
In London, Brent crude for April delivery was up $1.23 to $117.20 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Over the weekend, supporters and opponents of Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi fought in several cities, heightening fears that the country is headed for a protracted civil conflict. Libya’s oil output has fallen by at least 1 million barrels per day from 1.6 million since the uprising began last month.
Citigroup said it raised its 2011 average forecast for Brent crude to $105 from $90, but doesn’t expect this year’s violent protests in North Africa and the Middle East to spread to Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.
“We assume that output disruption is maintained through the second quarter,” Citigroup said in a report. “Output disruption, or at least the threat of, will support a fear premium for the rest of 2011.”
In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil rose 2 cents to $3.11 a gallon, and gasoline gained 3 cents to $3.08 a gallon. Natural gas futures were down 4.1 cents at $3.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.
