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Sky-High Oil Will Reshape World Power, Dent US Clout

Power shifts as global economies change

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 3, 2008 6:39 AM CST
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(Newser) – The surging price of oil from $10 a barrel a decade ago to a record $100 today is remaking the global economy and altering the balance of power across the world, according to the Wall Street Journal. If oil prices continue to climb, as many experts predict, US political power will decline as the economic clout of oil producers increases exponentially. The price of oil was holding near $100 today, driven by concerns about US fuel supplies and the dollar, Reuters reports.

High oil prices will put additional strain on economies which subsidize the price of gasoline, like China, embolden oil-rich nations like Russia and Venezuela, increase the stake of Arab states in western multinationals and throw troubled US automakers into further turmoil. Higher prices are already impacting the politics of climate change and the search for more oil deposits and alternative fuels.  

Unsold 2008 Escapes sit in a long line outside a Ford dealership in Denver on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007. Soaring oil prices are expected to throw troubled US automakers into further turmoil.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Unsold 2008 Escapes sit in a long line outside a Ford dealership in Denver on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007. Soaring oil prices are expected to throw troubled US automakers into further turmoil.(AP Photo/David...   (Associated Press)
Higher oil prices $100 a barrel and beyond are changing world economies and shifting the balance of power away from the US.
Higher oil prices $100 a barrel and beyond are changing world economies and shifting the balance of power away from the US.   (KRT Photos)
A deep sea oil platform. Higher oil prices are changing world economies and shifting the balance of power away from the US. (AP Photo/Scanpix, Norway/Oddvar Walle Jensen, File)
A deep sea oil platform. Higher oil prices are changing world economies and shifting the balance of power away from the US. (AP Photo/Scanpix, Norway/Oddvar Walle Jensen, File)   (Associated Press)
Soaring oil prices are remaking the world's economies and altering the balance of power, emboldening America's rivals, like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.(AP Photo/Luis Robayo)
Soaring oil prices are remaking the world's economies and altering the balance of power, emboldening America's rivals, like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.(AP Photo/Luis Robayo)   (Associated Press)
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$100 Crude

The Green upside of soaring oil prices
Time

Oil hits $100 a barrel for the first time
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FAQs on $100 a barrel oil
International Herald Tribune

Money • Green • US

 
China • climate change • Russia • Middle East • Saudi Arabia • Venezuela • Vladimir Putin • International Monetary Fund • ExxonMobil • United Arab Emirates • oil price • fuel economy standards • $100 a barrel oil • Aramco • Abu Dhabi Investment Authority • US automakers

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