Oil Approaches $120 On Libya

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Oil climbed, approaching $120 a barrel in London, on concern Libya’s uprising is reducing shipments from Africa’s third-biggest producer. The Swiss franc strengthened to a record, while U.S. stocks fluctuated after jobless claims fell more than economists estimated.

Brent crude jumped 3.2 percent to $114.76 a barrel at 2:43 p.m. in London, and traded as high as $119.79, while April futures topped $103 in New York. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.4 percent. The franc gained as much as 1 percent to 92.41 centimes per dollar. The 10-year Treasury note yield declined four basis points. Wheat slipped 0.7 percent.

Brent has soared 19 percent in the past month, adding to inflation, as protests across the Middle East toppled Tunisia’s Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. The rebellion against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi may have shut 1 million barrels of daily oil output, according to Barclays Capital.

“Forecasts for oil to reach $200 a barrel are starting to surface and if oil can go ballistic on any further fire in the Middle East, the aftermath will be probably be dramatic for the world economy,” Olivier Jakob, managing director at Petromatrix GmbH, a Zug, Switzerland-based researcher, said in a report.

Oil pared gains after a Saudi Arabian official said his country and other OPEC nations including those in West Africa are able to replace any lost Libyan oil.

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