Middle East Oil Risk Will ‘Never Cease’ — Market Talk

11:20 ET – US oil prices jump more than 11% to $61.17 after a weekend attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities that sidelined more than half the kingdom’s output. Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital, says the attacks probably won’t push US benchmark prices too much higher, perhaps to the $62-$65 range as Saudi output slowly returns. But longer-term, he says the incident serves to erase much of the market’s long-running bearish sentiment as investors are reminded the Middle East is a powder keg. “It served as a reminder of the one, big worry in oil markets, which is that geopolitical risk in the Middle East will never, never cease.” ([email protected])