Oil approaches $120 on Libya

Oil climbed, approaching $120 a barrel in London, stocks slid and the Swiss franc strengthened to a record as Libya’s uprising reduced shipments from Africa’s third-biggest producer.

Brent crude jumped 3.9 per cent to $115.61 a barrel at 10.55 am in London, and traded as high as $119.79, while April futures topped $103 in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.7 per cent, and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.6 per cent. The franc gained as much as 0.8 per cent to 92.41 centimes per dollar. The 10-year Treasury note yield sank five basis points. The cost of insuring sovereign debt rose to a four-week high.

Brent has soared 20 per cent in the past month, stoking concern global inflation will accelerate, as protests across West Asia toppled Tunisia’s Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.