Oil prices hit a new high above $76 a barrel Thursday in a market agitated by escalating violence in the Middle East, the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program and news of explosions on Nigerian pipelines.
"The oil price has become a register of geopolitical tensions and fears," said Daniel Yergin, who heads Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
Yergin said the supply-demand fundamentals are improving, with global oil inventories and spare oil-production capacity rising, but clearly not enough to offset the geopolitical unrest.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery shot up $1.30 to $76.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, surpassing the previous high of $75.78 set during trading last Friday.
The surge in oil prices rattled stock market investors, sending the Dow Jones industrials sharply lower for the second straight day. Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, slumped 3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange on concerns that high energy prices are cutting into consumers' discretionary income.
"The economy took $50 oil in stride," Yergin said. "It's clearly not taking $70 or $75 a barrel in stride. This is a rougher adjustment."
"The oil price has become a register of geopolitical tensions and fears," said Daniel Yergin, who heads Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
Yergin said the supply-demand fundamentals are improving, with global oil inventories and spare oil-production capacity rising, but clearly not enough to offset the geopolitical unrest.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery shot up $1.30 to $76.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, surpassing the previous high of $75.78 set during trading last Friday.
The surge in oil prices rattled stock market investors, sending the Dow Jones industrials sharply lower for the second straight day. Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, slumped 3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange on concerns that high energy prices are cutting into consumers' discretionary income.
"The economy took $50 oil in stride," Yergin said. "It's clearly not taking $70 or $75 a barrel in stride. This is a rougher adjustment."
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