Oil prices rose on Friday, with Brent crude nearing $118, as investors anticipated U.S. payrolls data later in the session will confirm the improving economic outlook of the world's largest oil importer.
A coalition air strike in Libya has killed seven civilians, according to the BBC.
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors awaited Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, while slightly weaker-than-expected economic reports on jobless claims and Chicago Purchasing Managers index weighed on the sentiment.
Oil prices rose on Friday, with Brent nearing $118, as investors anticipated U.S. payrolls data later in the session will confirm the improving economic outlook of the world's largest oil importer.
Prominent U.S. lawmakers tore into the plan of the administration to withdraw from air attacks in Libya, saying the decision was “odd”, “troubling” and “unnerving”, according to reports.
U.S. forces will significantly dilute their role in Libya though they played crucial role in the first phase of Operation Odyssey Dawn, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the House Armed Services Committee.
Oil prices rose above $107 on Friday in Asia, amid concerns that escalating fighting between the rebels and Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in Libya would lead to disruption of oil exports from the OPEC nation for longer than expected.
Brent crude was steady above $117, after earlier touching near a four-week high, as investors awaited an expected positive U.S. March payroll report due later on Friday for clues to demand prospects by the world's largest oil importer.
Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, who has vowed to fight until the end, is in way too deep to simply surrender.
A top NATO official on Thursday said there is no purely military solution to the crisis in Libya, as the coalition of North American and European nations took control of protecting civilians while rebels fighting Gaddafi-backed forces suffered setbacks after gains earlier in the week and talk of arming them grew.
Nothing is proven yet, but there are strong signs that Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi is looking for a way out.
Another senior official from Muammar Gaddafi’s government jumped ship.
On the heels of the defection of former foreign minister Moussa Koussa, more high-level associated of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi have apparently abandoned him, according to a report in Al Jazeera.
Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of Nation of Islam (NOI) in the U.S., has defended his brother” Moammar Gaddafi and blasted U.S. military action in Libya.
American military bosses have warned that Moammar Gaddafi’s army remains very strong, despite hundreds of allied strikes on Libyan targets by western coalition forces.
Oil prices jumped to their highest close in 2-1/2 years on Thursday in thin end-of-quarter trading that left Brent near a record quarterly rise of more than $22 as Libya's conflict and Middle East unrest kept supply threats in focus and U.S. economic data added lift.
Forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi are making an aggressive eastward advance into Brega, Libya, where there are battling back undermanned rebel forces for control of the key coastal city.
Oil prices rose on Thursday on the last day of the quarter, with Brent heading for its second biggest quarterly rise as Middle East protests and unrest and Libya's conflict kept threats to supply in focus.
Amidst reports that Libyan rebels are retreating in the face of the superior firepower of Moammar Gaddafi’s armies, the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has ruled out the possibility of providing weapons to the beleaguered rebel groups.
Oil prices rose over $2 on Thursday, led by Brent which was heading for its second biggest quarterly rise, touching $117.70 a barrel as Middle East supply worries led concerns.
Moussa Koussa, Libya’s former foreign minister who defected to the U.K., has been questioned and debriefed by British authorities.
Amidst reports that the Libyan foreign minister has defected to the west, soldiers loyal to Moammar Gaddafi have recaptured the strategic oil city of Ras Lanuf from rebel factions.
