Oil Price Jumps On Libya Bombing

The New York Times reports:

HONG KONG — Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel on Monday as the Western military action in Libya and continuing unrest in a host of other countries in the oil-rich Middle East region raised fears of possible disruptions to crude supplies.

The price for crude oil has risen continuously since expectations of a solid economic recovery in the United States solidified last year, and oil prices have soared sharply in recent months after anti-government protests erupted in northern Africa and the Middle East earlier this year.

On Monday, Brent crude for May settlement soared as much as $2.29, or 2 percent, to $116.22 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was last trading at $115.74. U.S. crude futures for April rose as much as $2.18 to $103.25 and last traded at $102.69.

The jumps nudged the price of oil back toward the highest levels since September 2008, reached earlier this month.

Gold, whose status as a safer investment causes it to rise amid times of uncertainty, also rose sharply, to around $1,438 per ounce. Earlier this month, gold had soared to an all-time high of $1,444.

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