- The US thirst for gasoline and fears of a hurricane have
pushed the oil market further into uncharted territory, with prices breaking
the $67 mark on Friday.
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- US light crude closed $1 up at $66.80 a barrel, after
hitting $67.10 earlier, while in London Brent crude closed $1.12 higher
at $66.50.
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- Worldwide petrol and gasoline prices are at unprecedented
levels.
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- US refinery stoppages have come just as car sales and
demand hit highs, and amid persistant security fears.
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- US demand
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- The latest surge has been partly triggered by more than
a dozen breakdowns at US installations, the latest of which hit a ConocoPhillips
refinery in Illinois.
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- And fears Tropical Storm Irene, which could intensify
to hurricane strength, is heading for the US Gulf Coast have added to worries
about supply interruptions.
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- Earlier this week, US government figures showed a 2.1
million barrel decline in US stockpiles during the first week of August.
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- With US economic growth strong and the latest data showing
car sales at their highest level since the consumer slump following 11
September 2001, the stage is set for further upward pressure on oil, analysts
said.
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- "The petrol and gasoline situation in the US is
probably the most worrying factor at the moment," said Simon Wardell,
at Global Insight.
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- "It looks like it could be an ongoing problem, because
a shortage of refining capacity is not something that can be resolved quickly."
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- Production worries
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- Thursday brought a report from a Paris think tank, the
International Energy Agency, which warned that producers outside the 11-member
oil cartel Opec were likely to reduce output.
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- And the ever-present security jitters are focused on
Saudi Arabia, after a string of alerts from Western countries warning of
imminent attacks, and Iran, where the new government is preparing to break
seals on uranium reprocessing equipment.
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- The two states are Opec's biggest producers.
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- In real terms, stripping out inflation, oil is well below
the $80 a barrel on average for the year after the 1979 oil crisis.
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- But the average price this year more than $53 per barrel
is higher in real terms than the level during the l973-4 first oil crisis.
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- © BBC MMV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4144246.stm
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