Bleeding us dry!
posted by
Clyde
5:04 AM
Economic Toll Mounts From High Oil Prices
Oil prices leaped above $135 a barrel in overnight trading on Thursday, a new record that underscored the growing pressures that runaway energy prices are placing on some of the biggest names in global industry.
Prices fell back in the course of the day, closing at $130.81 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $2.36 from Wednesday's close. But in a week that has seen the oil price rise by $4, the economic consequences of high fuel costs continued to mount.
The Ford Motor Company, the American auto manufacturer, said on Thursday it would cut vehicle production for the rest of this year and fall short of reaching profitability in 2009, a long-held company goal. In a statement, a top Ford executive said rising gasoline prices "are having a tremendous impact on our sales, our manufacturing operations and our profitability."
Meanwhile, Europe's biggest airline, Air France-KLM, warned of a profound reshaping of the world airline industry caused by what it called the "explosion" in the price of oil. And American Airlines said on Wednesday that it would slash flights and begin charging passengers to check bags, part of a company effort to cut costs in the face of skyrocketing fuel price.
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