The Double-Edged Sword: Falling Oil Prices and Regional Impacts – By Hemantha Yapa Abeywardena Source : oilfutures The price of crude oil slightly increased as the weekend approached, something that has been attributed to the rising tension in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shite military group in Lebanon. As of 18:00 GMT, the prices of WTI and Brent were at $81.58 and $86.46 respectively. The price of LNG, liquified natural gas, meanwhile, was at $2,60. The US crude stocks, against all odds, rose again during the last week, deviating from the draw that was reported a week ago. It raises the prospect of feeble demand that has been the case for months; this is rather unexpected in the US, the world’s top consuming nation of the fossil fuels, despite the onset of the summer driving season. The fact that the price of oil slightly went up despite the ...