* Venezuela says Libyan government accepts peace proposal
* Arab League says Libyan peace plan under consideration
* Libyan rebel leader says no interest in negotiating
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity, changes byline
and moves dateline from previous LONDON)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday
as Venezuela said its proposal for a negotiated solution to the
Libyan conflict was accepted by the North African government
and the Arab League said the plan was being considered.
The Libyan government has accepted Venezuela's plan for an
international commission to seek a solution to the crisis, a
spokesman for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said.
[]
Earlier, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the
plan was "under consideration." []
News network Al Jazeera said the plan would involve a
commission from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.
[] But a leader of the uprising against Muammar
Gaddafi's rule said he would reject any plan for talks with
Gaddafi to end the conflict in OPEC-member Libya.
Brent crude futures for April <LCOc1> fell $1.63 to $114.72
a barrel at 11:37 a.m. EST (1637 GMT). Prices had rebounded
from their intraday low of $113.09 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures for April <CLc1> fell 77 cents to
$101.46, after hitting a low of $100.37.
Brent's premium to its U.S. counterpart <CL-LCO1=R>
contracted on Thursday and was below $14 on Thursday after last
week's record $16.91.
Brent's price rise amid the recent turmoil in North Africa
and the Middle East has been stronger because Europe is more
vulnerable to supply disruptions from Libya and the region.
Analysts remained skeptical of the chances any
Chavez-backed plan would succeed and were worried about damage
to Libyan oil infrastructure as a result of the fighting.
Libyan output has fallen to 700,000-750,000 barrels per day
(bpd) as most foreign oil workers had taken flight, according
to Shokri Ghanem, the head of Libya's state-owned oil company.
[].
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Reuters Insider show on Libyan oil company head interview:
http://link.reuters.com/jys38r
Graphics showing:
Middle East unrest http://r.reuters.com/nym77r
Oil price shocks http://r.reuters.com/qes28r
Countries most reliant on oil http://r.reuters.com/dux28r
Calculator: Oil impact on GDP http://r.reuters.com/jux28r
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U.S. crude's losses were limited by data showing initial
jobless claims in the United States fell more than expected
last week and a separate report showing that U.S. 2010 nonfarm
productivity was revised upward.
"If not for high oil prices we'd have been cheering all the
positive data, like the jobless claims, in the past few days,"
said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
"And the dollar is being smashed because of the ECB and the
likelihood that moves to fight inflation might mean lower
demand in Europe and the Brent market."
The euro soared against the U.S. dollar, edging towards the
$1.40 level, after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude
Trichet cemented expectations of a near-term interest rate
rise. []
(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London;
Editing by David Gregorio)
