Byrner
06-27-2008, 11:13 AM
Oil prices rose to record high levels close to $142 a barrel today. Brent North Sea crude reached a historic $141.98 and New York light sweet crude struck $141.71 a barrel in electronic deals.
Prices reached new heights a day after OPEC's president said they could reach $170 this year owing to a weak dollar and geopolitical unrest.
'I predict probably prices of $150 to $170 this summer. It (the market) will probably fall a bit towards the end of the year,' the president of OPEC, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil said in an interview with the France 24 television channel.
If there were real demand for extra oil, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel would do what was needed to satisfy it, he said, affirming that there was enough oil in the world for about the next 50 years.
Oil prices have roughly doubled over the past year, sparking protests among consumers and workers around the world, and leading to fears for global economic growth.
Analysts have cited an inflow of investor funds as a factor behind the dramatic rise in prices.
Khelil said he did not expect prices to hit $200 a barrel, barring a major market crisis such as a halt in production in Iran. In that case, he added, prices could possibly surge to '$200, $300, $400'.
Khelil said the price of oil had risen, firstly because of the fall of the dollar, and secondly because of what he termed geopolitical problems in Iran, Iraq or Nigeria.
News Source:http://www.rte.ie/business/2008/0627/oil.html
Prices reached new heights a day after OPEC's president said they could reach $170 this year owing to a weak dollar and geopolitical unrest.
'I predict probably prices of $150 to $170 this summer. It (the market) will probably fall a bit towards the end of the year,' the president of OPEC, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil said in an interview with the France 24 television channel.
If there were real demand for extra oil, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel would do what was needed to satisfy it, he said, affirming that there was enough oil in the world for about the next 50 years.
Oil prices have roughly doubled over the past year, sparking protests among consumers and workers around the world, and leading to fears for global economic growth.
Analysts have cited an inflow of investor funds as a factor behind the dramatic rise in prices.
Khelil said he did not expect prices to hit $200 a barrel, barring a major market crisis such as a halt in production in Iran. In that case, he added, prices could possibly surge to '$200, $300, $400'.
Khelil said the price of oil had risen, firstly because of the fall of the dollar, and secondly because of what he termed geopolitical problems in Iran, Iraq or Nigeria.
News Source:http://www.rte.ie/business/2008/0627/oil.html