Oil Sets Record Amid New Violence in Iraq

[southernleftylady]

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices struck a fresh record on Thursday, spurred higher by renewed violence in Iraq (news - web sites) and fresh evidence that strong demand growth in China and India has not been slowed yet by higher energy costs.


U.S. light crude rose 68 cents to $47.95 a barrel, a new record, and London Brent gained 75 cents to $43.78 a barrel. U.S. prices have set record peaks in all but one of the past 15 trading sessions and are up more than $10.50 a barrel, 28 percent, since the end of June.

Attacks by Iraqi rebels saw mortars kill five at a Najaf police station and a domestic oil pipeline in the north blown up. Mortars also hit the Green Zone compound in Baghdad housing Iraq's interim government.

Rising world oil demand has left little slack in the system to cope with outages in Iraq where Shi'ite militia have said they will target oil infrastructure if U.S. forces do not leave the holy city of Najaf.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&e=6&u=/nm/20040819/ts_nm/markets_oil_dc_39

[Jacobin]

1. All going swimmingly

How anyone can support the incompetent administration in power is simply mind boggling.

[BootinUp]

2. but, but... He knows what he's doing. lol