Crude oil prices retreated despite continuing supply concerns after Iran insisted its nuclear program was irreversible, days ahead of a U.N. Security Council deadline to cease enriching uranium. Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell to US$74.69 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midmorning in Singapore. Accounting for inflation, prices are still about 20 percent below the records reached in 1981, when supplies became tight after a revolution in Iran and a war between Iraq and Iran.
The contract on Friday rose US$1.48 to settle at a record US$75.17 a barrel, after peaking at an all-time trading high of US$75.35. The market continues to be worried about the effect of international pressure on Iran's crude output as well as disruptions of oil production in Nigeria due to rebel activities.
OPEC president has predicted that oil prices would fall from their current high of just over US$75 a barrel to stabilize in the "upper fifties to lower sixties" as political tensions ease.
24-Apr-06 
{{comment.DateTimeStampDisplay}}
{{comment.Comments}}