VARIOUS: Consumers across the world dismayed as oil pushes towards 100 dollars a barrel

Record ID: 343995

  • Title: VARIOUS: Consumers across the world dismayed as oil pushes towards 100 dollars a barrel
  • Date: 9th November 2007
  • Summary: (W3) KUWAIT (FILE) (REUTERS) MORE OF OIL REFINERY IN KUWAIT
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Economic News,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVAELSI7HJQWMRD672YUFHRD857D
  • Story Text: Oil dipped below 95 dollars a barrel on Friday, but was still within reach of the 100 dollars milestone, supported by supply disruptions ahead of peak winter demand and the dollar's dip to new lows. U.S. crude fell 49 cents to 94.97 dollars a barrel by 1256 GMT, off early-session highs of 96.48 dollars.
    London Brent crude slipped 65 cents to 92.14 dollars.
    Oil has fallen for three days in a row from a record 98.62 dollars a barrel reached on Wednesday (November 7), pressured by concerns over the economic health of top consumer the United States after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke highlighted the twin threats of slower growth and inflation.
    With winter ahead in the northern hemisphere and demand likely to increase, the rising costs will hit consumers worldwide.
    William Rhind, Head of UK Sales at ETF Securities, told Reuters the impact on the global economy is going to be higher prices across the board.
    "We are seeing this rising tide of commodity prices and that is reflected ultimately in everything from the cost of food to the cost of petrol at the pump for consumers," he said.
    The weak dollar, which has helped boost the oil price, hit record lows against the euro on Friday (November 9) as expectations increased of another cut in U.S. interest rates following Bernanke's remarks.
    The dollar's slide has helped maintain the allure of crude for financial investors and speculators who have helped lift oil by 40 percent since mid-August.
    Rhind said: "There's certainly some speculative forces at work here but also fundamentally were seeing low stocks of oil in the US and this is interesting in particularly as we are now in the run up to winter and a time of year when you'd be expecting stockpiles to be higher than they are at the moment."
    He predicted oil prices would also continjue to increase.
    Even in the oil rich Middle East, consumers are feeling the worst.
    "It effects us alot, until now the government had not increased the price here but I see it on the cards very soon,'' said Leslie Fernandes, a resident of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates - a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which compromises of the six countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, making it the world's biggest oil exporting region.
    Price rises have already had a negative in Europe. French fishermen recently staged a six-day strike over rising fuel costs that blocked ports and oil depots in France after President Nicolas Sarkozy promised emergency aid.
    Around 300 fishermen blocked access to three oil depots at ports in northwestern France dumping tons of fish and setting small boats on fire.
    The angry fishermen also set fire to boxes of Scandinavian fish, saying they could not compete with imports because of the climbing fuel costs.
    Fishing firms say the recent surge in oil prices had pushed the cost of diesel to more than 50 euro cents a litre from the 30 cents they'd budgeted for.
    With prices of up to 1,34 Euros for a euro of diesel and 1,45 euro for petrol, fuel prices in Germany were at a high on Friday (November 09).
    Economists expect the prices to climb even higher as the price for a barrel of oil keeps rising.
    Klaus Reindl from the German Automobile Association told Reuters the petrol corporations had actually managed to pass the higher costs onto the consumer which meant motorists paying more.
    Motorists in Bavaria's capital of Munich were outraged: "These prices are simply murderous" one woman said, adding: "I am not even from Munich but I am stunned at the cost."
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