The fall of the regime of a North African 42-year autocrat helped push down crude oil futures Monday, Bloomberg reports.
Muammar Gadhafi was the object of an intense manhunt in Tripoli as rebels subdued the capital city though forces loyal to Gadhafi attempted to preserve his rule, according to Reuters. Oil companies were jousting to capitalize on production of the energy commodity after pipelines were virtually shut off when anti-government protests intensified in mid February, The New York Times reports.
"Gadhafi hasn't been found yet but it looks like his rule is over, which is having a big impact on Brent," broker Tom Bentz with BNP Paribas Commodity Futures told Bloomberg. "The Brent market rose the most when Libyan production was disrupted, so it makes sense that it would be the weakest now that it appears to be coming back."
At 3:56 p.m. on Monday, crude oil futures dropped 0.46 percent, a 50 cent slip to $108.12 per barrel.
When the demonstrations began in February, Libya's exportation of as much as 1.3 million barrels of oil per day stopped, according to the Times. The nation's oil is considered to be notable grade that few other countries' production can come near.
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