Concerns over Egypt & inflation push oil derivatives trading volumes to record levels

Escalating protests and political unrest in Egypt, following ongoing uncertainty as to when president Mubarak will leave office, will continue to push up oil prices in the long term and not just the short term, as risk premiums on oil prices will remain the same.

"Concerns on Middle East stability have clearly pushed oil prices higher," says Andrew Latto, senior analyst at independent research house Fat Prophets. "However, oil prices were already on a rising trend on strong emerging market