EGYPT'S IMPACT ON OIL
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 -- 11:31 AM
Crude oil prices have been moving up as more unrest threatens the Middle East.Many analysts had predicted we were heading toward $4 per gallon gasoline this summer even before the turmoil in Egypt reached a boiling point.
"Anytime you have political unrest in the Middle East, it directly affects energy prices, and certainly crude oil," says Erin Roth with the Wisconsin Petroleum Council.
Egypt itself doesn?t produce much crude oil, but the Suez Canal is a major hub for shipping, plus Egypt plays a major role in maintaining peace between Israel and Arab countries.
"It's a volatile situation. We don't know where it will go. It depends on if the protests will escalate into something worse," he says.
Even the United States government seems a bit unsure if protesters in Egypt are friends or foes of the West, but some have expressed a fear that a leadership change could allow more radical Muslim elements to gain traction there.
As for the price of gas, Roth says it?s anyone?s guess if the upward trend will continue, but he says what goes up usually comes down.
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