Argun Murti, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, has predicted that crude oil could top the $200 a barrel marker in as little as six months. The news came as US light crude rose above $122 for the first time yesterday. Murti does have a track record in correctly predicting oil price movements as 3 years ago he was the first to suggest oil would head above $100 a barrel.

Whilst it is the global demand, notably from China and India, that is drving prices higher, the man in the street will be more concerned about the impact on domestic fuel and petrol prices which continue to rise.  With around 67p of the price of a litre of petrol going to the Government in tax it is within their powers to alleviate some of the pressure.

The two day strike at Grangemouth has sent US light crude oil prices up to a high of $119.40, down slightly from its peak of $119.93. The strike at the oil refinery has led to the closure of the Forties pipeline which provides around a third of the UK’s oil output. In turn this has resulted in the loss of production of around 700,000 barrels pe day from 70 platforms.

Whilst the strike may only be for two days ti will take a full day to re-open the pipeline and up to a week before Grangemouth is again operating at full capacity.

Brent Crude ended the week at $108.75 a barrel which was just below its intra-day trading high of $109.98 on Thursday. The highs come as global economic concerns persist and investors turn to oil as a shelter from the volatility in stocks.

US light crude ended the week at $110.14, whilst up on the day is a little way down from its record high of $112.21 seen on Wednesday.