Posted on 01/31/2011 1:34:43 PM PST by FromLori
Fears that the turmoil in Egypt could disrupt oil shipments passing through the Suez canal and engulf the Middle East drove the price of Brent crude oil through the $100 barrier for the first time in over two years.
The price of a barrel of the benchmark Brent crude soared by more than $1.50 to as high as $101.08 a barrel as the protests against President Hosni Mubarak's regime intensified. Prices are now at their highest since September 2008, at the start of the financial crisis.
Abdullah Al-Badri, secretary general of Opec, the cartel of oil producers, expressed concern about the situation in Egypt and added that Opec did "not want 2008 to be repeated", referring to when oil prices hit a record $147. But he said the cartel would not increase production on the back of the surge in prices as he believed there was no shortage of oil.
Since August, oil prices have been steadily increasing from around $70 on the back of higher demand as the global economy recovers from the downturn, fuelling inflation.
The latest rise in oil prices will put further pressure on the British government to head off a rise in fuel duty planned for April.
David Cameron gave the latest hint in an interview with the BBC this morning that the budget on 23 March could include a "fuel stabiliser" which would cut the level of fuel duty motorists have to pay when oil prices rise.
Last week the price of diesel at the pump in the UK reached a new high, hitting 133.26p a litre on average.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Drill baby Drill!
How Egypt spells oil spike
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/31/how-egypt-spells-oil-spike/
“Now you know why Obama had oil shut off in the Gulf”
Form some reason, the crews I have on Gulf rigs at this moment have not been informed of that shut off.
Dennis Garmin was just on CNBC’s “Fast Money.” He said since more oil was going to be shipped through routes that did NOT include the Suez Canal, it was going to be a great year for the Somali pirates as well.
Sigh.
I think most Asian countries are self sufficient in rice, except NK....
I don’t know there have been problems with the weather and now the prices are being driven up by speculation to boot.
Impending rice shortage best argument against slashing NFA subsidy – Anakbayan
““Removing the NFA rice subsidy at a time when global rice prices are expected to soar is a sure-fire recipe for social disaster”
This was the warning of Anakbayan spokesperson Charisse Bañez following reports that the rice prices in the world market are expected to soar next year following a spate of natural calamities.”
Rice shortage, food prices rise likely in the wake of Lankan rain havoc
http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=16786
Rice shortage to jack up prices next year: Report
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Rice-shortage-to-jack-up-prices-next-year-Report-32757-3-1.html
Agriculture Statistics > Grains > Rice consumption (per capita) (most recent) by country
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/agr_gra_ric_con_percap-grains-rice-consumption-per-capita
If we're lucky OPEC will take a hit as the individual members scramble to keep the bucks flowing in to their own country (ies).
Egypt is not a member, but the unrest could affect those who are.
We’ve had gas at $3.24. for regular for a couple weeks now (W. WI)
My understanding is this is oil destined for the UK, not the USA. It will still impact US oil in time if it stays this high. It’s from the North Sea and impacted by the Suez Canal and problems in Egypt.
Link please.
Here is the link to the rig count that shows that there are 400 more rigs drilling in the USA today than there were a year ago and that there are almost as many rigs drilling in the US than there are in the rest of the world.
http://investor.shareholder.com/bhi/rig_counts/rc_index.cfm
MMMMMMMM-MMMMMMMMM-MMMMMMMMMM
Six
Bucks
A-Gallon
do the friggin RATS actually have to start FREEZING TO DEATH IN THE DARK before they will let us drill here???
Where are these rigs drilling other than ND/MT ?
I thought they had shut down the gulf ?
I would honestly say that if more tankers were to take the longer and more dangerous route they will do it with an armed convoy. They cannot be that absolutely stupid.
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