Word: barreling
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...After a spike when Iraq invaded Kuwait, prices weakened again in the 1990s, even as Saudi struggled to pay off its (large) chunk of the bill for the first Gulf War. At the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, oil prices had fallen to just $12 a barrel. This meant that Saudi Arabia - which sells its precious black gold at a discount, on average - was getting just $7 a barrel. Deficit financing was the only solution, and the government started borrowing at home and abroad. By 1999, Saudi Arabia's government debt was bigger than its economy...
Iraq's economic woes stem mainly from the huge drop in the price of oil, which accounts for 90% of the country's revenues. Last summer the price of oil soared to nearly $150 a barrel. Now the price is roughly a third of that, leaving Iraq struggling to fend off a financial collapse within its government. Iraq has an estimated $30 billion in surplus funds generated from oil sales in years past, but that money is dwindling. Iraq expects to run a deficit this year of roughly $20 billion, which could be covered by the surplus funds...
...results are a microcosm of the trouble that may face the economy over the next several quarters. Oil now trades above $60 a barrel. Fuel prices will inevitably move up making the cost of living and doing business higher while the abilities of consumers and businesses to spend are already in retreat. (Read: "British Airways: Cabin Pressure...
...many commodities. The Dow Jones - AIG commodity price index has shed more than half its value since mid-2008. The most visible turnaround has been in oil. A year ago, Western governments were pleading with Persian Gulf oil states to ramp up production as oil sped toward $150 a barrel; today, OPEC is twisting off the spigot in an attempt to support crude prices around $50. Some experts believe prices may stay depressed for years to come, due to greater energy efficiency, technological improvements in oil production and greater availability of alternative fuels like biofuels...
...averages 20 mpg, two more than our clunker. And that is enough of an improvement under the Dingell plan to earn us $3,500. Upgrading would also cut pollution, shave half a ton from our carbon footprint and reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil by a full barrel...