Oil dropped sharply following Saudi Arabia's assures it could fill any Libyan supply shortfalls and unconfirmed rumors Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been shot. A senior U.S. official told NBC News the U.S. government had no reason to believe that the Libyan leader is dead. However, the rumor swept through oil markets and sent prices tumbling more than $2 a barrel in late Thursday trade.
Oil markets had earlier eased on news top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia was in talks with European refiners affected by the disruption. Traders have been on edge on concerns the unrest sweeping across Northern Africa could spread to other oil-producing countries.
In London, Brent crude [LCOCV1 110.70 -0.55 (-0.49%) ] hit a high of $119.79 early in the session. It was last trading around $111 a barrel.
U.S. light, sweet crude for April delivery [CLCV1 96.22 -1.88 (-1.92%) ] settled down 82 cents at $97.28 a barrel, after touching $103.41, the highest since September 2008.
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