Oil Dips Following Record High
Oil fell in early trading from last week’s record high, but its continued climb has prompted some analysts to predict the price could jump to $200 a barrel this year, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Crude futures dipped on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $142.94 a barrel in pre-market trading, down from Thursday’s record close of $145.29 a barrel, Bloomberg reported.
If the steep rise on oil prices continued to as high as $200 a barrel, it could cause even more pain to affected industries such as trucking, airlines and automobile manufacturing, the Journal reported.
Crude at that level would push gasoline to more than $6 a gallon in the United States and cause more unrest around the world, where truckers continue protesting high fuel prices, the Journal said.
In a separate story, the paper said that the House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing this week on the regulation of commodities, including oil, by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Congress is considering several bills that could overhaul how commodities futures are traded, in large part due to the soaring price of oil.
