The oil market suffered a brutal selloff this week, prompting concern about a repetition of the 2008 boom-and-bust cycle. Back then, Brent jumped to a record high of almost $150 a barrel in July but ended the year below $40 as the global financial crisis deepened. This time, though, weakness in the financial oil market is at odds with the strong physical crude market.
In total, during the six days, Berkshire has bought just over 5 million shares of the company at an average price of USD 76.58 per share.
Even though political worries persist, Peter Hickson, Global Head of Commodity Research at UBS finds that the crude market is a safe bet because at some stage these issues will get addressed.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Jonathan Barratt of Commodity Broking Services says the escalating crisis in Europe is one of the reasons weighing on global commodities.
The one big worry is the tensions arising out of the MENA region with respect to the political scenario as well as what can happen to crude prices. Jason Feer, Vice President & Singapore Bureau Chief at Argus Media gave CNBC-TV18 his views on where this global political and economic cocktail is headed.