Oil near $112 as attacks damage Libyan oil fields

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for May delivery was up $1.56 at $111.86 a barrel, the highest since September 2008, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.47 to settle at $110.30 on Thursday.In London, Brent crude for May delivery was up $2.05 to $124.72 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.The large spread between the Nymex and Brent contract has been attributed to Europes higher perceived exposure to the scarcity of Libyan oil exports and the high US stockpiles of crude and gasoline.Crude output in Libya slowed to a trickle this week as forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi attacked the countrys largest oil field in the rebel-controlled east, rebels said. Most of Libyas 1.6 million barrels a day of crude production had already been shut down by nearly two months of fighting.Rebels were able to sell a shipment of 1 million barrels on Wednesday but damage to their oil fields has all but halted production. Output in the government-held west has collapsed as sanctions target Libyan state oil activities.A weaker dollar also boosted oil prices since that makes dollar-based commodities such as crude cheaper for traders with other currencies. The euro rose to $1.4416 on Friday from $1.4306 late Thursday.