IMF Warns Sustained High Oil Prices Would Hit Growth.

“The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Monday that global economic growth could suffer if the price of oil stays at its current high level for an extended period…. ‘I am concerned,’ said IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, during a visit to Panama. ‘The hike to something which is between $110 and $120 a barrel is something which may affect (growth) if it lasts too long.’…” [Reuters/Factiva]

FT adds that “…Strauss-Kahn says, however, that oil prices are unlikely to be hitting growth yet. ‘We are not there today.’…If the rise in oil prices is temporary, the world economy is likely to be able to shrug off its effect with some ease, even if some heavy oil consumers are individually hit hard. If the price rise persists, the outlook could darken quickly.…” [Financial Times]

In related news, Al Jazeera reports that “…Libya's oil output is down by half as a consequence of political unrest in the country, the International Energy Agency says. That figure matched a 50 percent fall in production claimed by the North African country's National Oil Company with the industry in chaos as international energy companies have scrambled to evacuate their staff….” [Al Jazeera]