Azerbaijan, Baku, March. 7 / Trend /
Oil rose to a 29-month high as fighting in Libya intensified, Bloomberg reported.
Oil advanced 2.3 percent to $106.84 a barrel at 7:55 a.m. in New York.
Fighting increased between Libyan rebels and troops loyal to Muammar Qaddafi, reducing the nation's crude-oil output by as much as 1 million barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency.
"A swift return to normality is unlikely" a team of analysts led by Eugen Weinberg, the Frankfurt-based head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG, wrote in a report. "It is essentially the fear of the unrest spreading across the entire region which is pushing oil prices up."
Commerzbank forecast today that West Texas Intermediate oil will average $107 in the second quarter.
Brent crude gained 1.9 percent to $118.14 on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Gasoline rose 1.3 percent to $3.0845 a gallon.