SINGAPORE: Brent crude prices surpassed $101 in Asian trade Monday as fears of copycat pro-democracy protests following Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's departure buoyed crude markets, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, was up eight cents at $85.66 per barrel in the afternoon.Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April advanced 64 cents to $101.58 on its first day of trade.
Oil prices were supported by supply concerns in the Middle East as demonstrators in various Arab states drew inspiration from Mubarak's resignation, analysts said."Even though the situation in Egypt has cooled down, there are concerns that this people's uprising will spread to other parts of the Middle East," said Victor Shum, senior principal of Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore.Mubarak, who had been in power for three decades before quitting on Saturday, was the second scalp claimed by pro-democracy protests following that of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who left office on January 14 after ruling for 23 years.Leaders throughout the Arab world have been monitoring events in the two countries closely.
In Algeria, hundreds of stone-throwing demonstrators clashed with police in the eastern city of Annaba on Sunday, while the opposition have announced another major anti-government rally next weekend.
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