World News Today: Brent crude oil at $121 a barrel

Monday, April 4, 2011

Brent crude oil at $121 a barrel

Oil has hit a new two-and-a-half year high on strong US jobs data and worries about the situation in Libya.

The cost of a barrel of US light, sweet crude reached $108.78 on Monday on expectations of rising demand.

Figures released on Friday showed the US unemployment rate fell for the fourth month in a row.

Meanwhile, Brent crude, rose to $119.75 a barrel, just below the peak of $119.79 it hit in February, when the Libyan crisis began.

Production by Libya, which is the world's 17th largest oil producer, with a 2% market share, has been almost completely shut down by the conflict there.

"In the short term, oil prices look very well supported," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

"The general market sentiment is positive, but we still feel that prices will come down later this year once the supply fears have dissipated."

Iran's oil minister also added to the pressure on oil prices by playing down the need for an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to discuss whether to increase supply.

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