Oil higher in Asia ahead of key eurozone summit

SINGAPORE – Oil rose in Asia Friday as investors look to upcoming summits aimed at resolving Europe’s debt crisis, while analysts said the death of Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi would have limited impact on prices.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, was up 71 cents to $86.78 a barrel, and Brent North Sea crude for December jumped eight cents to $109.84.

Traders were monitoring developments in oil-producing Libya after ousted former leader Gadhafi was killed, with focus on how fast the country will restore production that was lost during the rebellion.

Libya was producing about 1.4 million barrels per day of mostly high-value light sweet crude before the uprising at the start of the year.

Around 85 percent of Libyan output was exported to Europe, and the break in supply contributed to a surge in Brent.

However, Phillip Futures said in a report: “While North Sea production problems have been supportive to oil prices and Brent in particular, traders and analysts expect the return of Libyan oil exports to continue, unaffected by the death of Libya’s ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi.”

Oil cartel OPEC sees member Libya restoring production to one million barrels per day within six months, then attaining pre-conflict levels by the end of 2012.

Traders were also bracing for the outcome of European Union summits on Sunday and Wednesday.

EU leaders decided to hold a second summit on Wednesday as France and Germany continue to bicker over the best way to boost a support fund for troubled economies, ruining any chance of an agreement on Sunday.