The International Monetary Fund has assured that the world economy can shake off the negative impact of a sudden surge in oil prices due to the continuing political turmoil in the Middle East.

IMF first deputy managing director John Lipsky said in an interview with Bloomberg that the upswing of oil prices, which has been estimated by Goldman Sachs to breach the range of $105 to $110 a barrel will not cause that much change in the global economic outlook still in recovery mode.

The IMF has a forecast of 4.4 percent growth for the world economy this year on the basis of a $95 per barrel average price of crude.

Deutsche Bank in a similar positive note said that despite the vulnerabilities of global economies to the sudden spikes in the price of oil, consumer and business confidence are on the growth momentum and progress can still be attained.

The political chaos and public protests in Middle Eastern countries led by Libya has put pressure on oil prices world-wide after almost six months of stability.

Libya, which has a violent political situation these days, accounted for nearly 5 percent of the 29.4 million barrels of oil pumped daily by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in January, Bloomberg said. This means it is the ninth largest producer of the precious commodity.

Bloomberg reported that futures for April delivery climbed to within $2 of $100 a barrel in New York today, and London-traded Brent rose to $108.57, close to the highest since September 2008, as escalating violence in Libya stoked concern supplies from the region will be disrupted. Oil in New York has gained almost 6 percent since Jan. 24, the day before the first anti-government protests erupted in Egypt.