Oil will hit peak after recession, says OPEC

Oil could approach the record prices of last July as the global recession halts investment in exploration and energy projects, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) warned last night.

At a meeting in Toyko, OPEC, the cartel of oil-producing countries, and 13 Asian finance ministers, called for greater monitoring of global oil prices, claiming volatility is not in the interest of either producers or consumers.

The leaders expressed concerns in a joint statement that the world is heading for an oil price spike when it recovers from the economic crisis.

Telegraph