VOL. XLIII

No. 42

16-OCTOBER-2000

OPEC

Middle East Confrontation Gives Further Impetus To Already Revived Crude Prices

Politics became the sole driver of crude prices last week as Israeli-Palestinian relations reached flashpoint. What scared markets most, and what drove prices up by almost $3/B on 12 October, is the fear that with the Middle East peace process in tatters, Arab oil producers may resort once more to suspending or reducing oil exports in order to put pressure on Western powers. MEES...