Friday 24 June 2011

Brits could benefit from IEA oil release

Britain could benefit from the International Energy Agency's release of 60million barrels in response to the disruption of Libyan oil supplies.

Recent unrest in the Middle Eastern country has led some experts to suggest that Libya's oil supply won't return to normal until the end of the year.

Chancellor George Osborne said that the IEA move would help guarantee stable prices for British families who have already been hit hard by the big jump in the world's oil price.

Mr Osborne said: "Events in the Middle East and North Africa have disrupted supply and contributed to the price spike. So we've been working closely with our international partners to take action with today's release of oil stocks. It comes on top of the cut in fuel duty in the Budget, which means petrol is 6p a litre cheaper than it would otherwise have been."

As an IEA member, the UK is putting 3 million barrels towards the total.