Economics
Who’s Afraid of $100 Oil?
The mood is buoyant among major producers as crude prices rise, but there’s dread in Washington.
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For the first time this year, there’s a realistic prospect of crude oil reaching $100 a barrel, a sudden turnaround for a market that not long ago was in the doldrums.
The surge threatens to drag down consumer spending, and with it global growth, while filling government coffers for major producers. Meanwhile, worldwide consumption of the fossil fuel hit an all-time high of 103 million barrels a day in June, as estimated by the International Energy Agency, showing that humankind is making little progress in weaning itself off the planet-warming commodity.