- NEW YORK (Reuters)
- Instability in oil producing nations like Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria
helped boost U.S. crude oil prices to an average of $31 a barrel in 2003,
the highest yearly average in more than 20 years, energy experts said on
Wednesday.
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- The strong prices have been a headache to consumers who
shelled out big bucks for gasoline, heating oil and other fuels, and have
been blamed for slowing the recovery in the U.S. economy.
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- "It has been a very strong year for oil prices,"
said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates.
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- "This year has been marked by instability, and instability
is always coupled with high prices," said another senior energy analyst
based in Washington. "I expect prices will remain on the strong side
into next year."
-
- U.S. benchmark oil prices on the New York Mercantile
Exchange futures market averaged $30.98 a barrel in 2003, up 19 percent
from the average in 2002, according to Reuters data.
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- The price was the highest since 1982, when average benchmark
oil prices came within striking distance of $32 a barrel, according to
data compiled by BP in its annual statistical review.
-
- The high cost of petroleum came in a year when the United
States relied on a record amount of foreign crude oil for its energy needs,
accounting for 62.9 percent of what it consumed, according to the Department
of Energy.
-
- The strongest prices for oil this year came during the
build up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when prices briefly hit $39.99 a
barrel on concerns that the conflict would lead to export disruptions across
the Middle East.
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- The cost of crude in 2003 also reflected a decline in
supplies from Venezuela and Nigeria, where political instability affected
oil operations.
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- Analysts said they expected oil prices to remain strong
into next year despite forecasts of a seasonal decline in global petroleum
demand.
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- The OPEC oil producer cartel, which controls 40 percent
of the world's traded oil, has said it could decide to cut its output quotas
to compensate for any decline in demand when it meets Feb. 10 in Algeria.
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- Oil dealers are also concerned that the recovery in Iraqi
oil exports will be slow due to continued sabotage on the country's infrastructure.
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- London Brent crude oil racked up a 14 percent annual
rise this year to post the second highest yearly level in the last two
decades.
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- Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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- http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/031231/energy_prices_2003_1.html
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