It could happen if oil transport bogs down in the Suez Canal.
So far, the local gas price stands at $3.24 per gallon of unleaded, up a penny from last week. But with the price of oil rising in reaction to the Egypt crisis, I shudder to think what’s going to happen.
Here’s a bit of the oil-price story off the AP from this morning.
Rachel Pritchett
475-3783
NEW YORK (AP) — Brent crude oil topped $100 for the first time
since 2008 as investors kept an anxious eye on Egypt and worried
about unrest there disrupting the flow of oil from the Middle
East.
Brent is the benchmark for oil prices in Europe and Asia. The price
of West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark in the U.S., rose $1.46
to $90.80 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
While Egypt is not a major oil-producing country, each day almost
two million barrels of oil pass through the Suez Canal, which is
controlled by Egypt. The Suez remains open and shipping has not
been interrupted.
“Those watching it closely do not believe it is terribly likely to
happen soon or at all, but recognize the possibility that it could
occur,” energy consultants Cameron Hanover said.
In London, Brent crude rose $1.18 to $100.60 a barrel on the ICE
Futures exchange. That’s the first break above $100 since September
2008.
Oil prices also got a boost from positive U.S. economic news and
rising stock markets. The Commerce Department said that consumer
spending rose sharply in December, and purchases for the whole year
increased at the fastest pace in three years.
Stocks of energy companies led major indexes higher after Exxon
Mobil reported its most profitable quarter since the third quarter
of 2008.
So what if Egypt has little oil production of their own or that they control the Suez Canal. Do you really thinkg that the oil companies are going to pass up a chance to raise prices?