Oil prices slipped to near $105 a barrel Monday, March 28, in Asia as Libyan rebels retook control of a two key port towns and said they would restart crude exports within weeks.
Benchmark crude for May delivery was down 34 cents to $105.06 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 20 cents to settle at $105.40 on Friday.
In London, Brent crude was down 5 cents at $115.54 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange. Investors are also closely watching escalating protests in Syria and Yemen, the latest unrest in a wave of uprisings this year that unseated leaders from power in Tunisia and Egypt and sparked violent demonstrations throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
Some analysts expect strong global crude demand to continue this year, keeping oil above $100. Barclays Capital raised its 2011 average crude price forecast to $106 from $91, AP reports.
