Brent Oil Slides as Libyan Rebels Enter Tripoli; Premium Shrinks
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Brent oil fell in London, narrowing its record premium to the main U.S. oil grade, as investors bet that Libyan production may recover after rebels entered the capital city of Tripoli in a push to force out Muammar Qaddafi.
The European benchmark contract tumbled more than 3 percent amid speculation Qaddafi’s regime is crumbling. Libya’s output dropped to 100,000 barrels a day last month, a Bloomberg News survey showed. That’s less than 10 percent of the 1.6 million barrels the nation pumped before the uprising started in February. Prices rose in New York as the dollar weakened, making crude more attractive for protecting against inflation.