Sky-High Oil Will Reshape World Power, Dent US Clout

The surging price of oil from $10 a barrel a decade ago to a record $100 today is remaking the global economy and altering the balance of power across the world, according to the Wall Street Journal. If oil prices continue to climb, as many experts predict, US political power will decline as the economic clout of oil producers increases exponentially. The price of oil was holding near $100 today, driven by concerns about US fuel supplies and the dollar, Reuters reports.

High oil prices will put additional strain on economies which subsidize the price of gasoline, like China, embolden oil-rich nations like Russia and Venezuela, increase the stake of Arab states in western multinationals and throw troubled US automakers into further turmoil. Higher prices are already impacting the politics of climate change and the search for more oil deposits and alternative fuels.   (More oil prices stories.)