Prices jumped $7.16 a barrel for the WTI crude contract in the first day of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange since violence escalated in key North African oil exporter Libya over the weekend.
US oil prices in the past month had been relatively immune to Middle East political turmoil due to the heavy stockpiling in US oil depots, while London prices had risen significantly.
In London earlier Tuesday Brent North Sea crude rose more than two dollars from Monday to $107.75 on Libya fears.
© Copyright AFP Agence France-Presse GmbH – All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed. All reproduction or redistribution is expressly forbidden without the prior written agreement of AFP.
