Oil prices hit $40 a barrel Friday on concerns over security in the Middle East and tight US gasoline supplies, underlining concerns that world economic growth may be reined in by rising energy costs. US light crude touched $40 for the first time since October 1990, shortly after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in the crisis that led to the Gulf War.
Experts claim prices have surged on the back of worries about the threat of fresh terrorist attacks on Arab Gulf oil facilities, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
According to experts, the problems will last long, and therefore there are no reasons to expect the prices to be considerably lower in the near future.
On its part, OPEC blames a shortage of US refining capacity and heavy betting by speculative investment funds on oil futures for price gains of 22 percent since the turn of the year. “The reasons that are affecting the world oil market are really beyond OPEC’s control,” OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro was quoted as saying Friday. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
