British Chancellor reassuring on oil prices
Chancellor Gordon Brown has described surging oil prices as a "global problem which requires global solutions" and said he was confident the economic consequences would be "limited". Speaking on behalf of EU finance ministers, the Chancellor urged oil producers to recognise their "common interest" in ensuring sufficient supplies and expressed a need to improve the "transparency" of oil markets. The talks were part of a two-day meeting of Ecofin (European Union's Council of Economics and Finance Ministers), being held in Manchester, which began on Friday. Ministers from all 25 European Union states have been considering whether action should be taken in response to soaring crude oil prices, which have reached more than 70 US dollars a barrel following the disruption caused to the US industry by Hurricane Katrina. Protesters have threatened a repeat of the refinery blockades of 2000 in the UK, as prices at the pump touch £1 a litre for petrol.
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