Oil is over $100 a barrel again!

Some excerpts from an artical on reuters africa..

 The United States warned that the OPEC member faced the
danger of civil war if Gaddafi refused to quit. Many analysts
have warned it could be months before production is restored,
oil traders were beginning to shift their focus to even larger
risks in the Gulf.

 SAUDI, IRAN RUMBLINGS

 Human rights activists told Reuters Saudi authorities had
detained a Shi'ite cleric, fueling fears of sectarian conflict
in the world's top oil exporter. The news spooked both oil and
equity markets. [ID:nLDE7202A5]

 "The Saudis had seemed to be walking the tightrope and
avoiding problems, but the cleric story had people worried that
it signaled problems there," said Robert Yawger, senior vice
president, energy futures at MF Global in New York.

 Traders were also unsettled by a report in an Egyptian
newspaper -- quickly denied -- that Saudi Arabia had sent tanks
to Bahrain to try to quell protests.

 In Iran, pro-reform websites reported clashes between
anti-government protesters and security forces in Tehran. This
fed fears of that another top oil supplier could be affected by
the spread of turmoil that toppled leaders in Egypt and
Tunisia, and spread to Oman and Bahrain.

 "We're now at the point where a $1-$2 move is just a normal
fluctuation," said Peter Beutel, president at Cameron Hanover
in New Canaan, Connecticut.

 "At this point, we're rife with rumors and when any emerge
from the 'Petroleum Gulf' we're going to see a jump. If there's
some truth in it, the move will be $5-$6 rather than $1-$2."

and...

"The low volume indicates sellers have backed away from
these markets because no one can assert when or how this
(turmoil) will end," said Tim Evans, energy analyst for Citi
Futures Perspective in New York.

Prices also got a boost after the settlement from American
Petroleum Institute (API) data that showed total U.S. crude
inventories fell by 1.1 million barrels and gasoline stocks
dropped by 4.7 million barrels.

The draw in crude stocks, which countered analyst forecasts
for a 700,000 barrel build, came as U.S. crude imports fell by
589,000 bpd.