First of all we would like wish all our readers a very Happy New Year!

Of all the events of the past four weeks, in our view, the most significant was the sharp rise in oil prices, brought about by political and labour unrest in Venezuela. The barrel price shot up to well over $30.00 and is currently hovering around the $30.00 mark.  Though OPEC says it expects the situation to settle, in the meantime prices can be expected to remain above the $25.00 average to the detriment of most people’s energy bills. The worst affected are likely to businesses and households in the north of Europe and the Eastern bloc, where temperatures are currently at arctic levels.  One of the few winners is likely to be the Russian economy, on the back of stronger oil export prices.

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