Oil rebounds - stocks hurt
Thursday, June 12th, 2008Wall Street took a beating on Wednesday after oil prices rebounded, and fears among investors about possible rate hikes by central bankers got bigger due to inflation worries. US consumers are now paying 4 USD per gallon, a record high for that country. Compared to Europeans they are still getting a good deal, however. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 1 percent to end at 12,165.84. European stocks did not fare better, with major stock exchanges closing on average 1.4% lower. The dollar dropped again in value, while gold prices rose.
Wall Street fell sharply Wednesday as oil prices rebounded, aggravating concerns that inflation may lead the world’s central banks to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 160 points.
Investors have been uneasy about oil prices, which at times surged above $136 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dropping a day earlier. Having breached $139 a barrel last week, record-high crude has increasingly posed both an inflationary risk and a threat to growth.