BBC News Business
31 January 2011 Last updated at 16:45 GMT Brent crude oil price hits $100 a barrel Tanker in Suez Canal (file) Opec says it does not expect the transport of oil via the Suez Canal to be affected The price of Brent crude oil has surged through the $100 a barrel mark for the first time since October 2008 on concerns about the political unrest in Egypt. The price of Brent rose $1.66 to $101.08 a barrel in afternoon trading before falling back to $100.78. Oil prices had risen earlier in the day on fears that protests could lead to the closure of the Suez Canal and disrupt oil supplies. They fell back temporarily when the head of producers' group Opec said he did not expect Suez to be affected. And a canal official said that the waterway was running at full capacity. Brent oil has steadily climbed since August when it was just over $70 a barrel as the economic recovery has lifted global demand. US light crude also rose $2.20 to $91.54 - having traded as high as $91.75. "Traders are buying dips on fears that things could escalate further in the Middle East and spread to other countries," said Tom Bentz, a broker at BNP Paribas in New York. "Everything is still moving and there is no loss of shipping. But there are still concerns - nothing has gone away." ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
