New York, April 1 (IANS) Crude oil prices Thursday settled near $107 a barrel after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's troops recaptured the oil producing towns of Ras Lanuf and Brega from the rebels in eastern Libya.Light, sweet crude for May delivery surged by $2.45, or 2. 35 percent to settle at $106.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest close since September 2008.
In London, Brent crude for May delivery also traded sharply higher around $117 a barrel.
Libya's oil exports of 1.6 billion barrels per day, which account for two percent of world crude supply, were stopped after anti-government protests broke out in mid-February.
The unrest in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain have also pressured the markets and pushed oil prices higher, Xinhua reported.