Oil prices slipped below $98 a barrel today as traders braced for the worst in Japan, where a third explosion in as many days at an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant triggered a radiation leak. Stock markets, an indicator of investors’ outlook on the global economy, fell sharply across the world, dragging energy prices with them. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was down $3.37 at $97.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday the contract had added 3 cents to settle at $101.19. In London, Brent crude was down $4.58 at $109.09 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake on Friday and ensuing tsunami have hit demand for oil by shutting down five Japanese refineries—two due to fire. The affected refineries have combined daily capacity of 1.4 million barrels of oil, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan says radiation that has spread from four reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was enough to “impact human health” and the risk of more leaks was “very high.” The plant was initially damaged Friday. Kan urged anyone within 19 miles of the plant, some 140,000 people, to stay indoors or risk getting radiation sickness.
