Oil futures climbed back toward session highs on Thursday following reports of violence near Libya’s biggest oil terminal. Bloomberg reported that workers were evacuated from the Es Sider oil port as fighting escalated nearby. East Libyan forces said they carried out air strikes and clashed with rival factions Friday close to major oil terminals, according to Reuters. April West Texas Intermediate crude rose 57 cents, or 1.1%, to $53.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. May Brent crude added 58 cents, or 1.1%, to $55.66 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. “Remember one of the reasons some are skeptical about the success of OPEC cuts is because some producers like Libya have no production cap,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. “Maybe the fighting has put that cap in for a while.”
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