Opec unable to cool market
THE price of crude oil soared to a fresh high this morning as the Opec cartel of countries admitted it was powerless to cool the 'crazy' market.
US crude futures struck a new record, rising 28c to $44.10 a barrel, the highest since oil futures were launched on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in 1983.
The price has surged more than $14 or 49% since the end of 2003 on worries that accelerating global demand has left supplies tightly stretched with little leeway for disruption.
Opec president Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the cartel had no extra oil to immediately supply the world market to bring down prices.
'The oil price is very high, it's crazy. There is no additional supply,' Purnomo told reporters in Jakarta.
'Minister Naimi has said Saudi Arabia can increase production but they cannot do it immediately,' he said, referring to Ali al-Naimi, oil minister for the biggest exporter Saudi Arabia.
Purnomo's comments echoed those on Monday of Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil, who said Opec had done all it could to stop this year's oil price rally.
Oil prices have risen on the back of booming demand, driven largely by strong economic growth in China and the US, and due to fears over terrorist strikes on Middle East oil installations.
Those concerns were heightened yesterday after Washington declared a high-level security alert yesterday, naming potential targets including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington plus the Stock Exchange, Citigroup and Prudential in New York.
