Oil prices have been moving strongly to the upside today as traders face growing concerns over possible supply disruptions. The reason for the recent supply concerns come as violence continues to intensify in the country of Nigeria.Over the weekend elections were held in Nigeria, and the government party candidate was pronounced the winner today. Following the news that Umaru Yar'Adua had been declared the winner several opponents have voiced concerns that the election was flawed. According to outgoing Vice President Atiku Abubakar, it was "the worst election ever in Nigeria." He said the government had "no alternative than to cancel the election altogether. ... In fact, I have already rejected these elections."
Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer and its exports put it in the 7th spot overall in terms of global oil exports. There had been high hopes that a free and democratic election would mark the start of a new era in Nigeria but now all those hopes seem to have evaporated.
As a result of the voting violence has erupted in the country and this has led to oil prices spiking up over a dollar. Currently the price of oil has jumped $1.24 to $65.35.
While there are definitely going to be some tough times ahead for Nigeria we can just hope that the current election questions get resolved quickly and with as little bloodshed as possible.
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.
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