Crude prices continue to rise on relentless unrest in the Middle East

22-Mar-11

The past few months have seen an uptrend in crude oil prices. The relentless unrest in the Middle East is pushing it further up. Brent climbed 1.5% on Monday towards US$116 per barrel after western forces launched a military campaign against Libya, stoking fears of intensifying violence in North Africa and the Middle-East. Prices are expected to cool down ony when the tension in the MENA region starts to subside. The triple catastrophe in Japan is unlikely to impact global crude oil prices; it would impact product market instead. Under the current status, crude production from Libya is unlikely to be impacted significantly. Oil production in Libya has dropped to less than a mln barrels a day from 1.6 mln, Saudi Arabia has already started ramping up its production.