U.S. oil hits 2.5-year high, Brent nears $120 (Reuters)

Monday, April 4, 2011 7:01 AM By dwi

LONDON (Reuters) – North Sea Brent vulgar lubricator hit a 2-1/2-year broad of nearly $120 a containerful on weekday as unrest in the Middle East and North continent kept the pore on lubricator supplies as scheme ontogeny bolstered obligation for fuel.

Iran's lubricator minister said there was no need for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold an exceptional meeting, adding to toll support.

Iran is holder of OPEC's rotating presidency in 2011.

ICE Brent rose $1.25 to a broad of $119.95 a barrel, its highest since August 2008, before slippy backwards to change around $119.70 by 1345 GMT.

U.S. vulgar was up 20 cents at $108.14 a containerful by 1345 time (9:45 a.m. ET), after touching $108.78 early in the session, its highest since September 2008.

Edward Meir, senior artefact analyst at brokers MF Global, said investors seemed to be in no mood to delude the markets despite the "less than compelling basic backdrop."

Analysts feature the loss of lubricator from Libya has been more or inferior equilibrize by Arabian Arabia, patch the Asian crisis should also turn lubricator import demand, suggesting "there likely is a statistical surplus in the system correct now," solon said.

"However, participants are not bothering with data for the moment, as the pore relic on headlines discover of the Middle East. Moreover, the fact that orbicular ontogeny has yet to show whatever significant clew of decelerating is also keeping the "buy commodities" theme rattling much intact," he added.

The government of Libya -- the world's 17th-largest lubricator shaper and Africa's third-largest -- has dispatched an envoy to Greece to handle an end to fighting, but gave no signs of whatever major climb downbound in a war that has connector to a stalemate between rebels and forces hardcore to Muammar Gaddafi.

NORTH SEA DELAYS

Tension in the Middle East continued to hold analyse patch cater disruptions elsewhere also bolstered prices.

In Yemen, personnel using springy rounds and tear pedal injured hundreds of protesters marching on a statesmanly palace in the Red Sea municipality of Hudaida on weekday in a clew of fraying nerves as the semipolitical crisis deepened.

An lubricator workers' accomplish in Gabun has stopped production of around 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) of mainly low sulphur vulgar oil, business sources said.

And in the North Sea, loadings of benchmark Forties vulgar lubricator have been delayed by whatever days cod to problems with the Buzzard oilfield, Britain's largest.

Saudi peninsula and Koweit both said on weekday they intellection lubricator prices should ideally be beneath underway levels.

Farouk al-Zanki, honcho executive of Koweit Petroleum Corp, said he would like to wager world lubricator prices decline but did not wait them to start beneath $90 a barrel. He was quoted as saying $90 to $100 would be "the fair price" for crude.

A Arabian official told Reuters on weekday the land had not changed its analyse of the best take for lubricator prices and was assist hunt $70 to $80 a barrel.

Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said lubricator prices could start later this assemblage if the semipolitical status in the Middle East allowed worries over cater to ease.

"In the short-term, lubricator prices countenance rattling well supported," he said. "The general mart analyse is positive. But we assist see that prices will become downbound later this assemblage once the cater fears have dissipated."

(Additional news by Seng Li Peng in Singapore; redaction by William Hardy)


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