Oil Scales New High as Norway Strike Hits

[leftchick]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=6597385


<snip>


LONDON (Reuters) - Oil scaled a new high above $55 a barrel Monday as a threat by Norwegian ship owners to halt production from the world's third biggest exporter stoked fears of a winter supply crunch.
U.S. light crude (OILOIL: Quote, Profile, Research) set a fresh peak of $55.67 a barrel and at 1100 GMT was up 6 cents at $55.23. London Brent posted a record $51.90 before easing to $51.28, up 6 cents. Prices are up 70 percent since the start of the year.

The Norwegian Shipowners Association threatened to expand a lockout of oil rig workers to shut Norway's three million barrels per day of oil output in a bid to end a near four-month labor dispute.

"The expansion, which will start from midnight Monday Nov 8, will have immediate effect and will halt all oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf within a week," it said.

Norway's government has in the past stepped in to end oil labor disputes when there is a widespread threat to production and workers said the threat was a ploy to provoke the government to intervene. The strike so far has closed just 55,000 bpd.

[donsu]

1. kick

pity the people that live in northern climes - they will be broke by spring