Ray Carbone, president of Paramount Options, has been trading on the floor of Nymex for 20 years. He has rarely seen anything like it: "The markets over the last few days have been probably as jumpy and jittery as I've ever seen them - and I've been here through two Gulf wars, a Russian coup and Hurricane Katrina."
Behind the upward spurt is a tightening in supply from the 12-nation Opec cartel and a slowdown in output from alternative sources. Added to the mix are Turkey's sabre-rattling towards northern Iraq, trouble in Pakistan - a nuclear power - and storms in the North Sea, prompting a feverish atmosphere of concern.
. At the moment, even small things can make people very, very nervous indeed," says Norrish.
clipped from: www.guardian.co.uk