Cairo, February 01: Oil prices have climbed to above 100 dollar per barrel for the first time in two years as concerns grow over a disruption of crude flows through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
London’s Brent North Sea crude for March delivery topped 101 dollars a barrel on Monday for the first time since the 2008 economic crisis.
Meanwhile, the US crude surged by over two dollars to settle around 92 dollars a barrel.
The hike came after the head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) warned about a real supply shortage.
OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri warned that the energy market would “need to act” in the event of a crude delivery disruption through the Suez Canal.
Egyptian authorities insist the canal is still working at full capacity, but an uprising aimed at a regime change in the North African nation has caused major shipping giants to halt operations in the country.
——–Agencies