Oil prices hit record levels
Oil prices hit record levels today, reaching $56.85 a barrel on continued scepticism about Opec’s ability to calm markets by increasing official output.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries appeared to be considering just that, with Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi saying it was deliberating increasing daily production by an additional 500,000 barrels.
That would be in addition to an increase of the same magnitude agreed to last week.
Naimi, whose country is the organization’s main producer, also said Saudi Arabia was prepared to unilaterally up its output from the present daily 9.5 million barrels to 11.5 million barrels, “if we have a customer”.
Prices have risen by about a third this year, fuelled by a late cold snap across the world’s largest energy consumer, the US.
They also have been underpinned by a weak dollar and rising global demand at a time when there is very little excess supply available.
Prices at petrol stations in the US are at record levels, rising 13% in the past two weeks.
