Oil traded near $100 a barrel early Monday, its highest level in more than two years, as ongoing Middle East political turmoil raised concerns that production may be disrupted further, Bloomberg reported.
Oil rose to $99.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up more than $2 from Friday’s closing price, Bloomberg said.
Crude futures saw their biggest weekly gain in two years last week, rising $11.68 to finish the week at $97.88 a barrel, though they hit $100 in intraday trading. Its highest closing price was $98.10, on Wednesday.
The price gains in the past two weeks come as political turmoil that cut output in Libya spread to Oman, raising concern that other Middle Eastern producers could see production cuts, Bloomberg reported.
Not all of Libya’s production is stopped, however, as at least one tanker loaded with 700,000 barrels was set to leave the country late Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Higher oil prices over the past three months have pushed diesel prices up for 12 straight weeks, with the most recent national average topping $3.57 a gallon.
The Department of Energy is scheduled to release its weekly survey of gasoline and diesel pump prices Monday afternoon in Washington.
