Oil prices hung near $105 a barrel Wednesday, March 23, in Asia as violent uprisings in the Middle East kept traders nervous about possible crude supply disruptions.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 4 cents to $105.01 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.88 to settle at $104.97 on Tuesday.

The April contract, which expired Tuesday, climbed $1.67 to end at $104.

In London, Brent crude was up 18 cents at $115.88 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange, AP reports.

Oil has jumped 24 percent since Feb. 14 as violent protests rock the Middle East and North Africa.