Energy worries - Jump in oil prices cause for anxiety

CRUDE OIL is at a record $88 a barrel, bringing the psychologically significant $100 a barrel milestone all the closer.

Prices have jumped because of concern Turkey may attack Kurdish militants in Iraq and disrupt shipments. US analysts also suggest that a winter cold snap might just be the final impetus needed to drive prices over the €100 mark.

Anyone concerned with the way the world’s energy market is developing will have taken note of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s ambitions, stated at this week’s Communist Party’s five-yearly congress, where he said that his priority is to sustain China’s double-digit growth. Such a tremendous economic force and such a tremendous population will impose demands on the market never before experienced.