Although the price of petroleum has moderated recently, a permanent increase to $150 per barrel by the end of 2008 could have a significant negative effect on the rate of real gross domestic product (GDP), at least in the short run, based on an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Kevin L. Kliesen, [...]

Oil prices rose back above $128 a barrel after the dollar fell in response to comments by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet suggesting the bank could raise interest rates. At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices rose to a new record near $3.99, and are likely to hit $4 soon.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery [...]

This is a 70 per cent jump on the sector’s current employment levels.
The council is forecasting 6 per cent annual employment growth for the sector – double the Federal Government’s forecast of 3 per cent yearly growth.
The greatest demand will be for skilled trades, with the Minerals Council expecting another 31,000 skilled workers will be [...]

Wall Street tumbled Tuesday after oil prices spiked to a new record above $129 a barrel and a government report raised investors’ concerns about the impact of inflation on consumer spending. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 200 points.
Crude jumped after OPEC’s president was quoted as saying his organization won’t raise its output before its [...]

With prices for key commodities at record highs, Indonesia — Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and a key exporter — should, at first glance, be enjoying good times.
But with high oil prices leading to a government fuel subsidy blowout and rising food prices hitting the poor, analysts say most Indonesians are being squeezed.
Indonesia is the world’s [...]

South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni said the price of oil is unlikely to drop any time soon, hampering efforts to contain inflation and adding to pressure for higher interest rates.
“On the inflation picture, what is of serious concern is that it doesn’t seem like oil prices are going to be of assistance to [...]

Somphong Vajirakaphan, CEO of one of Chinatown’s better-known goldsmiths, said if the long queues at gold stores in China on the day gold prices hit US$1,000 (Bt31,200) an ounce indicated anything, it was that the market remained jittery and panicky.
Although touted as a safe haven for investors seeking to cover their losses in the volatile [...]

World markets saw another day of turmoil and investor jitters Monday as Asian shares plunged, oil hit a fresh high and the dollar fell to a new bottom after the near-collapse of US bank Bear Stearns.
Dealers said an emergency cut by the US Federal Reserve to its discount rate and a weekend deal for JPMorgan [...]

British Gas lowered its residential electricity and gas prices on Thursday in the latest salvo of a price war.
British Gas parent, utility Centrica, said the business was cutting electricity prices by 6 percent and gas prices by 3 percent. Coupled with cuts earlier this year this would reduce the average annual dual fuel bill by [...]

Workers at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia rallied to demand higher pay in a protest that may to curb output at the world’s second-largest copper mine. The price of the metal gained.
Protesters are moving to Timika, the regency’s capital, said Frans Pigome, the head of Tongoi Papua, which represents native Papuans. [...]