WTI oil trading over $108 on Libya, Middle East tensions

4 April 2011 4 April 2011

BonTrade

WTI oil futures open Monday’s trading session over $108 a barrel as tensions in Libya and several oil exporting countries in the Middle East continue to push oil prices to highs not seen since the summer of 2008.

Latest WTI Oil Price

US Light crude oil futures for May 2011 delivery was trading at $108.26 a barrel, 06.20 GMT this morning in electronic trading on the NYMEX, after hitting $108.70 at this morning’s open.

Libya Conflict into Sixth Week

The conflict in Libya is now in its sixth week, with reports divided as to whether government or rebel forces are gaining ground in the violent and prolonged conflict. On the weekend fighting took place around the Libyan oil town of Brega, after Friday’s Nato airstrike that reportedly killed 13 people.

Oil exports out of Libya have dried up after the conflict started, affecting oil supply around the world.

Middle East Unrest Continues to Push Oil Prices Higher

Meanwhile in the Middle East, protestors clashed with riot police in Yemen, while in Bahrain, officials have effectively shut down the opposition’s leading newspaper, Al-Wasat, as part of a larger government crackdown on the media.

“The focus remains on headlines out of the Middle East. The fact that global growth has yet to show any significant sign of decelerating is also keeping the buy commodities theme very much intact.”
analysts at MF Global said in a research note.

Bahrain imposed emergency law last month, and troops from Saudi Arabia and other neighbouring Gulf nations were called in to help quell the uprising. The government has announced a gag order on coverage of investigations related to the emergency law, and multiple bloggers and online activists have been arrested.