| | | GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS : Middle East, ME/NAF, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen | | | | TOPICS : economy, international relations, gas, oil, politics, fiscal, foreign trade, government | | | | SIGNIFICANCE : The Arab uprisings intensified volatility in the oil market last year, with the price of Brent crude reaching its highest annual average in 2011. Market conditions have been a cause for concern for consumers facing a faltering global economic recovery and for producers anxious about the need to maintain growth in oil demand. While the political upheavals in the Arab world pushed up oil prices temporarily, their longer-term effects are likely to be even more significan |
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