Oil prices slipped below $104 a barrel on March 10 but remained elevated and highly volatile in light of the intense battles around Libya's crude and gas facilities.

Investors are keeping a close watch on developments in the country, especially as its crude production has fallen more than previously estimated as the fighting near key oil installations has intensified.

Sentiment in the oil markets over the past few weeks has been driven by developments in North Africa, where Libya produces, in normal times, a little under 2 percent of the world's global oil needs.

Though oil prices have dipped modestly over the past couple of days they remain at historically high levels.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was down 56 cents at $103.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Meanwhile, Brent crude was down 84 cents at $115.10 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange, AP reports.