Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. XLVIII

No 15

11-April-2005

Crude Prices Reach New High Then Ease On Profit-Taking And US Stockdraw

Crude prices once again smashed records last week, after WTI and Brent achieved settlement peaks on 1 April. The surge continued on 4 April, with WTI scaling $58.28/B and Brent hitting $57.65/B in intra-day trading before easing as investors began to take profits. Also that day the OPEC Basket price reached a new high. Bullish momentum had carried over from the...