Fears that production will be cut at a time of relative tightness has pushed the price higher.

He wanted to cut his time. What he got was a whole bunch more time. What kind of mental machinery does this guy have in his head?

It really has been a momentum-driven push to $60 over the past week. We've seen funds really pile in hard in an effort to push it over (that level).

If high prices do continue much longer, they will certainly have a bite on GDP growth. At the moment, we are at the stage where prices are really driven by short-term factors that the market has been dealing with for the last few months.

Prices are being pulled from pillar to post at the moment, which is all a consequence of a tight market and will continue as long as demand is so strong and supply is struggling to keep up.

All these factors create apprehension in the market and reinforce the view that we're on a knife's edge in terms of supply and demand. The uncertainties heighten the risk premium applied to this market.