Middle East risk perceptions continue to rise
Credit default swap (CDS) spreads on several major Middle East and north African sovereigns continued to widen today, with the region's political turmoil beginning to have an effect on the global economy. As Libya, which produces 2% of the world's oil, descended further into chaos, the price of Brent crude oil jumped from $105 per barrel on February 22 to $113 per barrel today, its highest point since September 2008.
In Saudi Arabia CDS spreads echoed this rise and moved from 137 basis points ye
