Oil Prices Reach New Highs

As oil prices keep on climbing on concerns about a possible disruption of global oil production, many experts believe $100 per barrel prices will become a reality soon.

According to the Korea National Oil Corporation, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for December shipment traded in the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $2.72 from the previous day to close at $96.70. The price of WTI futures traded at over $98 at one point in after-hours trading.

Brent crude oil for December settlement also rose as much as $2.69 to a record $93.18 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Dubai oil also gained $1 to close at $86.53, replacing a record figure set on November 1 of $85.69.

Meanwhile, the Overseas Economy Research Institute of the Export-Import Bank of Korea said in its report titled “The impact that oil price hikes have on macro-economy and industries,” which was released Wednesday that, “A 10-percent rise in oil price will cut consumption by 0.6 percentage points and industrial production by 0.3 percentage points respectively.”

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