Crude Oil Trades Near Two-Week High as Alliance Prepares Attacks in Libya

Oil prices advanced to their highest in two weeks as the alliance of the implementation of a no-fly zone over Libya ready to attack ground forces Muammar Gaddafi, raising concerns that the nation's exports will remain suspended.
The futures rose as much as 0.6 percent after the U.S., said Adm. Samuel Locklear additional attacks will be launched in the "coming hours and days." Prices have advanced 15 percent this year, the protests that ousted the leaders of Tunisia and spread to Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria. Credit Suisse Group AG raised its forecast for Brent crude by 25 percent.
"The fear that no one knows how the crisis in Libya will be developed in the coming weeks or months remains the risk premium of oil prices," said Diek Sintje, an analyst with HSH Nordbank in Hamburg. "We still have some risk if it becomes clear that there is a civil war in Libya, which has no quick fix, and there is still fear of a spillover of tensions in major oil producers in the Persian Gulf."
Crude oil for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose to 65 cents to $ 105.62 a barrel, the highest price for the next month contract since March 9 and was at $ 105.35 at 12 : 20 hours in London. Brent crude, which rose to 70 cents in the previous operations, fell 19 cents to $ 115.51 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange in Europe.
Brent premium in New York futures declined for the fourth consecutive day. The difference between the two contracts in May was $ 10.17 a barrel, compared to $ 10.73 yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
"Taking into account all options'
Credit Suisse raised its estimates for Brent crude in 2011 to an average of $ 105. 80 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate on the Nymex at 10 percent, to $ 93.80 a barrel, the Zurich-based bank said in a note to clients today. The bank cited the accelerating growth of global demand and production disruptions in the Middle East.
The alliance of nations implementing the no-fly zone over Libya is now "considering all options" for the use of air power to protect civilians in cities Misrata battlefield, Ajdabiya and Zawiyah Locklear told reporters at the Pentagon by telephone from his command ship in the Mediterranean Sea.
Libya conflict, which began in February in the eastern city of Benghazi, is the bloodiest in a series of uprisings that have spread throughout the Middle East drove the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia. US-backed president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for three decades, says it can yield to public demands to stop smoking.
Extended impact
The Libyan oil production has fallen by about 1 million barrels a day to a quarter of its normal level and could be affected by more than a year, leaving the market of crude oil depends on world's largest producer, Saudi Arabia Commerzbank AG, said today.
"In the case of a civil war and acts of sabotage, this period could be much longer," said analysts led by Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research in a note today. "The ongoing battle in Libya and the spread of protests from other Arab countries has pushed up the risk premium on oil prices."
Crude oil and cereals are the performers of major commodities this year as investors bet on supply disruptions, according to a study by Barclays Capital. Twenty-eight percent of investors polled this month said oil is going to get the most out of this year, followed by maize and wheat. Gold, which gained 30 percent last year, you can "tarnish" and ranked as the worst performer this year, after natural gas, the bank said.
Rebound in Japan
Japan, the largest oil consumer in the world's third largest, could see a rebound in the second half of this year, a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The nation may establish an agency to oversee the rebuilding after repairs March 11 earthquake.
country's strongest earthquake on record triggered a tsunami that killed thousands and damaged the plant in Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear energy. Tokyo Electric Power Co. began the restoration of electricity in the premises of the night, alleviating the concern will be nuclear fusion.
"With the process of rebuilding around the corner there will be some upward pressure on demand in Japan, relative to what would otherwise have been," said Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist at National Australia Bank Ltd . in Melbourne, Susan Li on Bloomberg Television, "for the first time." "A marginal impact on the oil market will be an increase in oil plants to meet some of those who lost their nuclear weapons capability, in terms of generating electricity. "
Japanese refineries are processing more crude oil than expected, based JBC Energy GmbH Vienna researcher said yesterday. The earthquake's six refineries closed a total of about 29 percent of processing capacity in the country, Bloomberg calculations based on data from the Petroleum Association of Japan show. Three of the plants are closed, analysts led by David Wech JBC said in a note.
U.S. Crude stocks rose 970,000 barrels to 350.8 million last week, according to industry-funded American Petroleum Institute. An Energy Department report today may show inventories rose 1.5 million barrels, rising for a third week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts.
Crude supplies in the delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell 143,000 barrels to 40.2 million, down from a record 4. 36 million in the previous week, according to the API.