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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Oil price at record $100 a barrel | Oil price at record $100 a barrel |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Oil has traded at $100 a barrel for the first time. | Oil has traded at $100 a barrel for the first time. |
| Violence in Nigeria and Algeria, the weak dollar and cold weather have all raised prices after the New Year break. | Violence in Nigeria and Algeria, the weak dollar and cold weather have all raised prices after the New Year break. |
| Reaction to the assassination of the former Pakistani prime minister, Benazir Bhuto, also contributed to the rising prices. | Reaction to the assassination of the former Pakistani prime minister, Benazir Bhuto, also contributed to the rising prices. |
| Light sweet crude for delivery in February rose $4.02 to trade at $100 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). | Light sweet crude for delivery in February rose $4.02 to trade at $100 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). |
| But some analysts played down the relevance of passing the $100 mark. | But some analysts played down the relevance of passing the $100 mark. |
| "The entire focus on $100 oil is frivolous," said Tim Evans at Citigroup Futures Research in New York. | "The entire focus on $100 oil is frivolous," said Tim Evans at Citigroup Futures Research in New York. |
| I would imagine the speculators are the biggest drivers today Phil Flynn, Alaron Trading Oil industry in figures | |
| "It is not a magic number. It doesn't suddenly make this a fundamentally strong market." | "It is not a magic number. It doesn't suddenly make this a fundamentally strong market." |
| Light trading | |
| While daily price rises have been blamed on unrest in oil-supplying countries such as Nigeria, the real increase in demand has come from China and India. | |
| Trading volumes were about half of their usual levels as traders returned from their New Year breaks, which may have exaggerated the effect of speculative transactions. | |
| "I would imagine the speculators are the biggest drivers today," said Phil Flynn from Alaron Trading in Chicago. | |
| The oil-producers' cartel Opec has also blamed speculators for the high price of crude and said that there is plenty of the fuel in the market to meet demand. |