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Oil price rise could derail global recovery, warns IEA
Business digest: Stocks fall as Libyan crisis escalates and IEA considers emergency oil release
The International Energy Agency has warned that the sudden jump in oil prices caused by the violence in Libya could derail the global economic recovery.
The organisation's chief economist Fatih Birol said IEA members would consider releasing emergency stocks of oil if the supply from the Middle East and North Africa was affected.
Although Libya is the first major oil producing country to be affected by the wave of violence in the region global stocks have fallen sharply and the price of Brent crude oil has leapt to $108.57 a barrel - its highest since the start of the financial crisis.
Birol said high prices would damage the trade balances, add to inflation and put pressure on banks to raise interest rates, and that could undermine growth in many countries.
The IEA is made up of 28, mainly European, nations that are all members of the OECD.
Read a full report in the Guardian ·
