VOL. XLV

No 9

4 March 2002

IRAQ

Market Jitters Over Iraq Push Oil Prices Higher

With traders lacking a clear picture ofnear-term demand trends, crude prices were driven more by headlines and rumor than underlying fundamentals last week. Before weekly US stocksdata became available, a new scare over US intentions in Iraq drove prices so high that by the time thebullish data did appear its effect was swamped as the market readjusteddownwards. Then on 28 February reports of US airstrikes in...