Turkey's Threats Send Oil to Record High Near $88

Crude oil hit yet another record today, trading near $88 a barrel over fears that a looming Turkish attack on Northern Iraq would disrupt pipelines in the world’s third-largest oil producer. Turkey’s PM said he expected parliament to approve an incursion to root out PKK militants in the Kurdish region, through which Iraq ships most of its crude.

A Sept. 18 attack on the pipeline dropped Iraq’s production last month by 100,000 barrels per day. “It's a strong geopolitical concern,” an analyst told Bloomberg. “The market is pricing in some disruption.” Oil is already up $3 this week, a necessary price hike, OPEC says, given the dollar’s decline. OPEC sells in dollars, but buys many goods in euros.