Crude up in Asian trade

I / Singapore February 18, 2011, 14:49 IST

Oil was up in Asian trade today as persistent tensions in the Middle East and North Africa continued to push prices higher, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, gained a cent to $86.37.

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose two cents to $102.61.

"I think that crude oil prices could again be boosted by unrest around the Middle East and North Africa," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst for Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Tensions around the region continued to persist today, with casualties as well as fatalities in Libya and Bahrain as security forces clashed with anti-regime protesters.

Crime spiralled in the capital city of post-uprising Tunisia and Egypt's military leadership assumed what it says is temporary control over the Arab world's most populous nation.

In Algeria, senior former regime leader Abdelhamid Mehri urged President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to implement sweeping political changes as pro-democracy protests took root in the country.

Tensions in the Middle East and north Africa, home to major Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members, tend to push oil prices higher as traders worry over the potential for supply disruption.