"Oil-Price Swings Double as Unrest Spreads Before Saudi Talks"

"Oil-price swings have doubled this year as unrest spreads through the Middle East, source of one- third of global crude supply, hampering producer and consumer efforts to stabilize the world’s biggest commodity market.

As officials from more than 90 nations including Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman gather in Riyadh tomorrow to seek ways of curbing fluctuations, oil’s 20-day historical volatility has risen to 29.4, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was at 12.6, an all-time low, at the end of December. U.S. futures for April jumped as much as 4.5 percent today as violence spread in Libya, holder of Africa’s biggest crude reserves. "

Grant Smith and Lananh Nguyen report for Bloomberg February 21, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"Oil Flows, but High Prices Jangle Nerves" (New York Times)