Norwegian strike lifts oil prices
An oil workers’ strike in Norway, the world’s eighth largest oil exporter, has propped up Brent crude, pushing the price to nearly $94 a barrel in yesterday’s trading. The labour minister, Hanne Bjurstroem, yesterday said that the government was far from intervening in the dispute. The government has the authority to step in to force a settlement because the sector accounts for a fifth of the Nordic nation’s gross domestic product and nearly half of its exports.