Brent oil prices pushed above $116 a barrel and U.S. oil jumped more than $3 to its highest since September 2008 on Friday, as fighting in Libya worsened and protests in the Middle East intensified.
Investors piled into the oil market fearing extended supply disruptions in Libya as rebels fought security forces in Ras Lanuf, a major oil terminal. And growing unrest in Bahrain and Yemen ratcheted up anxiety over Saudi Arabia, where Saudi Shi'ites staged protests on Thursday.
Prices closed out a second big weekly gain with news that hedge funds and big speculators had increased their bullish bets on U.S. oil prices by over 30 percent in the week to March 1, taking their net long position to a record high as they braced for further turbulence in the region.
As to cutting the umbilical cord to the rest of the world, that may be tougher than it seems. For one the US needs a lot of raw materials, including some that are only produced abroad for its more sophisticated technologies . And then there is the employment generated by exports. In 2009 GDP was 14.1 trillion and exports 2.1 trillion. That’s about 15 percent of production which in employment terms, and based on an overall labor force of 130 million, could mean as many as 19 million jobs.
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