New oil shock ahead as $100 spike looms

observer: The growing international crisis over Iran's nuclear programme could trigger a catastrophic oil price spike, sending crude prices over $100 a barrel, senior Wall Street analysts are warning.

With prices already at around $72 a barrel, such an increase could mean drivers facing prices of 110p a litre on forecourts, according the the Petrol Retailers Association. Last week Lord Browne, chief executive of BP, warned that prices could rise to £1 as he unveiled bumper $5.27bn profits for the first quarter.

Shell is also expected to announce close to record numbers next week, with analysts expecting profits around $5.57bn, driven largely by the oil price. Read more

...In a report, Sieminski argues that with the world consuming some 85 million barrels of oil a day, a supply disruption of 2 million barrels a day (60 per cent of Iran's exports) 'can only be rebalanced through an extraordinary rise in prices.' Read more

db: If the region of concern wasn't Iran it would be somewhere else. Supply jitters are here to stay.

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