Qatar's newly appointed oil minister Mohammed al-Sada said Tuesday that the rise in oil prices to above $100/barrel for the first time since the global financial crisis of late 2008 was a reaction by oil markets to geopolitical concerns over events in Egypt.
"Although Egypt is a small oil producer, it plays a big role in the economy of the Middle East," Sada said in remarks read on his behalf at a conference.
He said the market's reaction to the anti-government protests in Egypt was an indication of the inter-relation between the various factors that drive markets.
"The speed of the events unrolling in the Middle East have an impact on other parts of the world and these developments in North Africa have therefore had an impact on oil prices," Sada said in his first comments about oil market conditions since assuming office in January.
The Qatari minister said that geopolitical tensions tend to reflect on the economic front and thereby serve as a driver of oil prices.
Oil prices last week rose to their highest level since October 2008 with the ICE Brent crude benchmark trading above $103/b on fears that the unrest in Egypt could spread to other parts of the oil-rich Middle East and over concerns that oil and LNG tanker traffic through the Suez Canal might be affected.
The Suez Canal remains open and has suffered no disruptions, officials said Tuesday.
