High oil prices may put world back into recession: IEA
Baku, September 15 (AZERTAC). Current oil prices risk pushing back the global economy into recession, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist said after US crude rose above $100 a barrel yesterday, its highest level in four months.
“I see the prices today, in this economic context, as unbearable for consumers,” Fatih Birol said. “High prices together with other factors could push the global economy back into recession,” he added.
The two most vulnerable regions to high oil are Europe and China, he said.
Birol declined to say whether the latest price rises could prompt the IEA to carry out an emergency release of oil stocks but said the agency was monitoring markets very closely.
Prices rose yesterday as concerns about the threat to economic growth from high energy costs tempered hopes for stronger demand after the Federal Reserve launched an aggressive stimulus programme.
Brent November crude rose 78¢, or 0.67%, to settle at $116.66 a barrel, having traded from $115.88 to $117.95, highest price since early May..
“The market is exhausted after rising so much, and the IEA economist worrying about high oil prices probably helped pull prices back some,” Dan Flynn, analyst at Price Futures in Chicago said.
In contrast to those cautionary reports, US consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in early September as Americans anticipated better economic and employment prospects, but the cheery attitudes could be temporary, a survey showed.
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