-
And it endangered the flow of oil to Europe through the Suez Canal.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Reconsidering the Suez Campaign
-
Egypt earns most of its foreign income from what are, in effect, rents from sources such as oil, plus tourism, Suez Canal tolls, migrants' remittances and external aid.
ECONOMIST: Egypt's economic misfortunes, miseries and mistakes
-
More than 4 million barrels of crude oil a day are shipped through the canal or an adjacent pipeline.
BBC: Egypt unrest hits Europe's stock markets
-
Conversely, the ransoms mean higher insurance premiums for the rattled shipping industry, delays for customers as more ships choose the longer passage around the Cape of Good Hope, lower revenues for the Suez Canal, and for the oil markets yet another variable to work into already volatile prices.
ECONOMIST: Somalia
-
The Suez Canal is a major shipping canal with more than 2% of global oil output passing through it.
FORBES: What's Egypt's Impact on Your Portfolio?
-
During the Suez Canal crisis, the Vietnam War and again during the 1970s oil embargo, courts held that commodities brokers could not bail out of futures contracts.
FORBES: Collateral Damage
-
Earlier, they had temporarily fallen back after the head of the oil producers' group Opec said he did not expect the turmoil in Egypt to affect the canal.
BBC: Egypt unrest hits Europe's stock markets
-
Unrest in Egypt mattered because of the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline, which together transport almost 2 million barrels of oil per day.
FORBES: The Libyan Crisis: Where Are Oil Prices Going?