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/ 12 March 2008

Oil bubbles near $109

Oil prices were close to $109 in Asian trade on Wednesday, underpinned by the United States dollar’s dive to a new low against the euro and supply concerns, dealers said. In late morning trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, traded briefly at $108,90 a barrel, up 15 cents from its record closing high of $108,75 on Tuesday.

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/ 29 February 2008

Oil price strikes record high above $103

The price of New York crude oil hit an all-time high point of $103,05 per barrel on Friday owing to record weakness of the dollar, but then fell back, traders said. And the price of gold reached an historic peak of $976,32 per ounce. "This was part of a broad-based commodities run based on the continued weakness of the dollar," said Petromatrix analyst Olivier Jakob.

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/ 13 February 2008

IEA: Oil market could be set for lengthy slowdown

The world oil market could be set for a lengthy slowdown, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, signalling a sharp shift in the climate that pushed the oil price to $100 last month. "Just as the demand shock of 2004 shaped the oil market for the next three years, so too could the pending slowdown," the IEA said in its monthly review of oil trends.

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/ 7 January 2008

Oil prices ease further from $100 level

World oil prices eased further from the historic $100-a-barrel level on Monday after weak US employment data fanned worries about recession and demand in the world’s biggest energy consumer, dealers said. In afternoon trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was 71 cents lower at $97,20 a barrel.

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/ 23 November 2007

Oil prices slip further from record heights

World oil prices fell on Friday after a momentous week that saw record peaks close to $100 as traders worried about tight energy supplies and geopolitical jitters in key producer countries. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, sank 95 cents to $96,34 per barrel. The contract had hit an historic $99,29 on Wednesday.

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/ 29 October 2007

Oil hits record high above $93

Oil prices jumped to fresh historic highs on Monday, breaching $93 for the first time on mounting concerns about tight energy supplies worldwide, analysts said. Investors pushed up crude futures to new peaks as more bad news in the shape of Mexican production cutbacks came on top of already serious tensions in the Middle East.

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/ 27 October 2007

Oil price hits record high on Iran tensions

World oil prices surged to historic highs on Friday, breaching $92 for the first time in New York amid rising tension in crude-rich Iran and tightening United States energy supplies. New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, soared to a record intraday high of $92,22 per barrel.

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/ 16 October 2007

Opec worried by record oil prices

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) voiced concern on Tuesday over oil’s relentless rise towards $88 a barrel, but some members said the exporter group can do nothing more to control the rally. Opec agreed last month to raise production by 500 000 barrels per day from November 1.

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/ 18 September 2007

World oil price tops $81

Oil prices topped 81 dollars a barrel for the first time on Tuesday, setting another record high amid fears of critically tight supplies for the winter season in the United States. Opec’s announcement last week that it would pump an extra 500 000 barrels per day from November has failed to stop the surge in price.

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/ 7 September 2007

Bush speaks at Opec … er, Apec

United States President George Bush, who reportedly once told aides he dislikes the "small talk in big rooms" of summitry, seemed not entirely sure on Friday which world leader gathering was going. Opening the keynote speech of his visit to Sydney, Bush thanked Australian Prime Minister John Howard "for being such a fine host for the Opec summit’.