As long as the oil supplies of the Middle East seemed almost inexhaustible, consuming countries usually enjoyed a buyers' market. And Western oil companies kept prices low by playing one oil-producing nation off against another. Lately, an upsurge in demand, the closing of the Suez Canal and a rupture in the Trans-Arabian Pipeline have all but turned the market upside down. Today the sellers have more power than ever before. Oil prices are sure to rise, and negotiations began in Teheran last week to determine how high they will go.
Bargaining Muscle. For the first time, a score of oil...
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