U.S. crude oil price briefly crossed 100 dollars a barrel on Wednesday, hitting the triple digits for the first time since October 2008, as violence spreading in Libya caused anxiety in oil markets.
On Wednesday, heavy gunfire broke out in Libya's capital city Tripoli, causing concerns that weighted the oil markets.
After Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said in a defiant speech on Tuesday that he would not step down, promising tougher action against rebels, analysts feared that long-lasting supply disruptions or even permanent damage would happen for the OPEC member's oil industry.
Much of Libya's oil producing capacity and port operations are in the eastern part of the country where according to reports the government has lost most political control.
Oil firms which operate in Libya have been suspending production and evacuating workers. Italian ENI, Repsol of Spain, Total of France, Statoil of Norway and BASF of Germany, have halted much if not most of their oil production in Libya and moved personnel out of the country. Others, including the British giant, BP, said earlier that they were evacuating workers.
In a research note, Barclays Capital estimated that around 1 million barrels a day of production has been halted, or more than half the country's total production of about 1.6 million barrels a day.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery soared 2.68 dollars, or 2. 81 percent to settle at 98.10 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, advanced nearly 10 percent in two trading sessions, while the Brent crude rallied above 110 dollars a barrel in London, also its multi-year high.
