VOL. XLV

No 17

29-April-2002

OIL PRICES

Crude Prices Hover Above $25/B As Effects Of Politics And Demand UncertaintyCounteract

Crudemarkets last week returned to the uneasy equilibrium of before the failedVenezuelan coup, with traders weighing bullish concerns over political tensionin the Middle East against bearish doubts over the strength of demand. Behindthe weeks trading remained the speculative position of hedge funds, which havemaintained a long position in the expectation that prices will...