En marche vers $100 le baril

Le prix du brut qui est aujourd’hui autour de $80 le baril pourrait aisément atteindre et dépasser les $100, selon des experts koweïtiens. Les actuels événements au Moyen-Orient, l’attaque d’Israël contre le Liban constituent les événements qui pourraient concourir à cette hausse.

L’agence koweïtienne KUMA, reprise par le Daily Star de Beyrouth, nous donne quelques précisions :

«  The current oil price level of $80 per barrel of crude could easily jump to $100 and more if the unrest in the Middle East continues, several Kuwaiti oil experts argued on Sunday. The experts, who were speaking in separate interviews with KUNA, said there was no limit to what oil prices could reach if the current war in the Middle East extended to encompass more countries.

» “Nobody can tell what would be the situation with regard to oil prices in case the current military conflict between Lebanon and Israel extended to include more countries,” economic expert Jassem al-Saadoun said. “This would be the worst scenario in which oil prices would exceed all boundaries namely the $100 per barrel level.” He added oil prices could easily jump much higher “if oil was used as a bargaining card,” bearing in mind that the Middle East has the largest oil reserves in the world. “However, this is not likely at present,” he said. (...)

» Another expert, Nawal al-Fzeih, who represents Kuwait in OPEC, blamed the current high oil prices on “Middle East geopolitical factors,” which she explained as the indirect conflict between the US and Iran over the latter's nuclear activities. She said another reason for the price hike was the increasing demand for oil by China.

» A third oil expert, former Oil Minister Hmoud al-Raqaba, told KUNA oil prices would continue to increase “as long as the current conflict between Lebanon and Israel continues.” »

Mis en ligne le 20 juillet 2006 à 23H56