Oil prices down in Asian trade

SINGAPORE – Crude fell in Asian trade on Tuesday as Libyan rebels emboldened by Western air strikes marched towards dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s birthplace Sirte, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, lost 14 cents to $103.84 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for May dipped 12 cents to $114.68.

“US crude oil fell as Libya’s rebels gained against forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi,” Phillip Futures said in a report.

The rebels, who launched their uprising against Gadhafi’s four-decade rule in mid-February, were regrouping after being pummelled by loyalist forces at the village of Harawa, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Sirte.

As anti-government forces started retaking towns they lost to government forces last week, they said that their uprising would not further hamper oil production in areas under their control.

Oil-rich Libya was producing 1.69 million barrels a day before the unrest, according to the International Energy Agency. It is now producing 400,000 barrels a day.

More than 35 countries, including seven Arab states, were also due to meet in London later Tuesday to map out a post-Gadhafi future for Libya.

On the eve of the conference, US President Barack Obama urged the international community to support “a transition to the future that the Libyan people deserve.”

“Even after Gadhafi does leave power, 40 years of tyranny has left Libya fractured and without strong civil institutions,” Obama warned.

Oil prices remained strong as the dollar lost strength in afternoon Asian trade, with investors focusing their attention on the unrest in Libya as well as other parts of North Africa and the Middle East, analysts said.