- Sheikh Yamani, the former head of OPEC who terrorised
the West with threats over oil supplies in the 1970s, returned to the fray
yesterday when he warned that the price of crude could triple to $100 a
barrel if there is a war against Iraq.
-
- His comments contributed to another torrid day on financial
markets, where shares tumbled. The FTSE 100 index closed down 68.3 at 3,671.1,
a level unseen since December 1995.
-
- In an interview in a German magazine DM Euro, Sheikh
Yamani - who is now retired as Saudi oil minister but still close to the
ruling family - said Saddam Hussein could fire chemical weapons at his
neighbours if he was attacked.
-
- "And if that's the case, you can expect a triple-digit
oil price. It could rise to $100 if the flow of oil from Kuwait and Saudia
Arabia is turned off."
-
- The benchmark price of a barrel of crude rose 12 cents
to $29.25 yesterday, still below the $40 a barrel it reached during the
Gulf war. But analysts are <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/09/07/wirq507.xml>increasingly
concerned that it will continue to rise.
-
- Last night Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal
Reserve, declined to come to the market's rescue. US interest rates were
left on hold at 1.75 per cent.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2002
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/200
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