Georgia conflict halts oil's deep slide
Crude prices rise amid conflict between Russia and Georgia that could threaten a critical oil pipeline.
Last Updated: August 11, 2008: 10:49 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices were narrowly higher Monday morning amid concerns about a conflict between Georgia and Russia that could disrupt supplies in the region.
U.S. crude for September delivery rose 17 cents to $115.37 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, halting a multi-week slide.
Georgia and Russia are embroiled in a conflict over control of the province of South Ossetia and its key pipeline - an important transport hub between Europe and Asia for crude oil and natural gas.
Oil prices had jumped sharply higher earlier in electronic trading, but pared those gains as traders mulled the dollar's recent gains and remained concerned about falling worldwide demand - both of which have pushed crude futures lower in recent weeks.
Dollar gains: The dollar, which took a big hit from the turmoil in the mortgage and credit markets, has made gains in recent weeks as the effects of those crises have started to spread to other economies.
Crude is traded in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes oil futures more expensive to investors.
"Economic growth is down around the world. Demand for commodities, especially energy, continues to slide," said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers.com in Tampa, Fla.
The dollar rallied to five-month high against the euro Friday amid concerns about weakening European growth.
Georgia-Russia Russian bombs fell near the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports crude through Georgia and Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea, according to reports. However, the pipeline had been shut down before the fighting began, due to a fire in Turkey.
The conflict caused the oil producing nation of Azerbaijan to halt exports of crude and refined fuel from two critical Georgian ports on Saturday, according to state-owned oil company SOCAR.
Georgia, which has strong ties to the U.S., has been developing closer relations with NATO. The country had been trying to assert control over South Ossetia and the province of Abkhazia, both of which have strong pro-Russian separatist movements.
Falling demand: Fuel prices have tumbled recently on worries that high prices are cutting in to global demand.
Crude futures fell $4.82 on Friday to settle at $115.20 a barrel - more than $30 below the high of $147.27 set on July 11.
The price of gasoline in the U.S., the world's largest crude consumer, has fallen for
25 straight days to a nationwide average of $3.81, according to motorist group AAA. Still, gas prices are more than a dollar above where they were a year ago.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/11/markets/oil/index.htm