The price of oil shot up nearly $11 to close at $138.54 a barrel on Friday.
The sharp increase came as U.S. stocks plunged on news of a four-year high in unemployment. The Dow Jones Index fell 394 points.
Ole Slorer, an analyst for Morgan Stanley, reports that oil could rise to $150 a barrel by July 4th. Other analysts suggest that oil may go as high as $200 a barrel within the next 18 months.
Tensions in the Middle East have helped fuel the sharp rise, including a threat of strike by workers at Chevron’s facilities in Nigeria that would disrupt production and access to oil.
