NEW YORK – Oil prices settled slightly lower Friday after a volatile day marked by a U.N. resolution to use force to stop Moammar Gadhafi’s violent attacks on rebels followed by a Libyan announcement of a cease-fire.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery fell 35 cents to settle at $101.07 per barrel. It rose as high as $103.66 earlier in the session as the U.S., the U.K. and France prepared for military action against Libya under a U.N. resolution. In London, Brent crude lost 88 cents to settle at $113.77 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Libya’s Foreign Minister announced a cease-fire shortly after the U.N. voted to authorize a no-fly zone and “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan citizens from forces loyal to Gadhafi.

Oil prices have surged as much as 27 percent in the past month as uprisings swept through North Africa and the Middle East. The region is home to OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran, and it produces 27 percent of the world’s oil.

 


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