Global oil prices rose sharply on Monday after the initial round of western bombing against Libya was met by Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi’s promise of a “l(fā)ong, drawn-out war”, which traders fear will keep the north African nation’s oil from the market.

Libya is one of the world’s largest oil exporters and a member of the Opec oil producers’ cartel. Production has already dropped to a trickle, down from a pre-crisis level of 1.58m barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency, the watchdog.

ICE April Brent, the global benchmark, jumped more than $2 to a session high of $116.19 a barrel and in early afternoon trading was up 1.6 per cent to $115.75, approaching the 2?-year high of almost $120 barrel set in late February. In New York, Nymex April West Texas Intermediate rose 1.9 per cent to $103.03