Oil prices rose this evening as unrest in Yemen threatened to further hit energy exports from the Gulf region and the US dollar weakened to a 15-month low.
French oil giant Total warned buyers of liquefied natural gas from its Yemen LNG project that shipments from the country could face cuts due to escalating political unrest, although they remain normal for now.
A bloody political stand-off in Libya between the Muammar Gaddafi regime and rebels in control of the country's east has slashed oil production from the OPEC country by around 75%, to below 400,000 barrels a day (bpd). Yemen pumps around 290,000 bpd of oil, largely for export.
This evening, Brent crude rose 86 cents to $115.82 a barrel, while US crude rose $1.55 to $103.88 in light volume.
US crude had earlier fallen as low as $101.43 after Japan said it would release oil from its strategic stockpiles following the recent earthquake and tsunami which forced the idling of nuclear reactors and led to power outages.
The outages should lead the Asian country, the world's number three crude importer, to boost oil-fired power generation, increasing oil demand.
The US dollar slumped to a 15-month low against other major currencies as a resumption in risk appetite spurred demand for currencies and commodities that could offer higher returns. This usually makes oil cheaper for holders of other currencies.
