Libya Pipeline Blast Sends Oil Prices Soaring

Reports of a pipeline explosion in Libya sent oil prices soaring to $60 a barrel, that is a two-and-a-half year highs.

The blast reportedly sidelined 90,000 barrels a day of supply in a country that produced 973,000 barrels a day in Novem-ber.

A Libyan military source said earlier that armed men had planted explosives at the pipeline.

The price hike was also due to the production cut in oil pro-ducing countries causing supply disruptions.

Libya is one of two OPEC members, along with Nigeria, that were exempt from a deal to cap production this year. Both countries have suffered oil supply outages related to internal conflicts.

The 14-member cartel, Russia and nine other exporting na-tions recently extended an agreement to keep 1.8 million bar-rels a day off the market to help shrink brimming stockpiles of crude around the world.

That deal has helped to balance a glutted market, so supply disruptions are more likely to push up crude prices.