• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 2 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 5 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 7 hours If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 4 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 5 days The European Union is exceptional in its political divide. Examples are apparent in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Belarus, Ireland, etc.
  • 20 hours Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs
  • 4 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
Business Insider

Business Insider

Business Insider is one of the leading Business and finance news sites online.

More Info

Premium Content

Libyan Unrest Causes Commodity Prices to Skyrocket

As political turmoil and violent social unrest continue to plague Libya, a massive economic mushroom cloud has emerged in the form of unprecedented upward price momentum across the broad spectrum of commodities.

Reaching levels not seen since the 2008 energy crisis, the price of crude oil has exploded as concerns mount over the security of Libya's 1.2 million barrels a day of oil exports.

Inflaming the situation further was a state television broadcast in Libya Sunday evening that portrayed Saif al-Islam Gaddafi vehemently warning protesters that they are tempting civil war, a potentially bloody conflagration that threatens Libya's oil wealth. This threat particularly struck nerves in Libya as the unemployment rate in the Arab nation already stands at an estimated - and staggering - 20%.

The death toll in Libya surpassed 200 last weekend as bloodshed continued to follow an uprising that saw an angry mob of protesters clash with Libyan security forces in the streets, a clear indication that dictator Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year reign of autocratic authority may soon end.

"Libya is a significant producer and exporter of good quality crude oil and threats by the tribal leader to stop production is worrisome," Christophe Barret, an oil analyst at Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, tells Reuters.

Brent crude - a global benchmark for petroleum prices - spiked 3.1% to $105.70 a barrel in London on Monday, the highest price recorded in well over two years.

According to a report Monday evening in the Washington Post, officials from around the world - including Saudi Arabia and the United States - are meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to discuss curbing runaway crude oil prices.

As fear entered the markets to a rarely observed extent, spot gold climbed to $1,400.40 an ounce Monday while silver touched a 31-year high and palladium similarly capped 10-year record highs.

ADVERTISEMENT

By. Tom Grisafi of Indiana Grain Company 


Download The Free Oilprice App Today

Back to homepage





Leave a comment
  • Anonymous on February 24 2011 said:
    What is happening in Libya gives an insight into the power of oil. The fear associated with the loss of only 1.2 mb/d of oil has moved the oil price up by almost 15 dollars a barrel in 9 days. Not bad!

Leave a comment




EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News