Rising oil prices drove the cost of jet fuel to near-record levels last week. New York kerosene prices reached 32.7¢/litre ($1.24/USgal) last week, compared with 38.6¢/litre in October 1990, ahead of the Gulf War. Unusually low US oil stocks and the recent general strike in Venezuela have combined with war anxiety to drive crude prices to a high of $38.08 a barrel, its highest level since late 1990. Analysts believe prices will fall by around one quarter as soon as "uncertainty" over Iraq is removed.

Source: Flight International