[oil] over $59 a barrel

Oil prices rose above $59 a barrel Friday after Norway ordered production shut down at two offshore platforms, reducing flows by about 10 percent from the world's third-largest oil exporter. A decline in U.S. inventories of distillate, which includes heating oil, also played a part in the rally of more than $1 a barrel, and traders continued to watch OPEC for any sign that the cartel will cut output. Saudi Arabia _ the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries _ has yet to publicly confirm repeated statements from OPEC's president that members are "nearing consensus" on how to divvy up a 1 million-barrel-a-day reduction. Light sweet crude for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.42 to $59.28 a barrel. In London, November Brent crude on the ICE Futures exchange rose 99 cents to $59.73 a barrel. If you read the earlier article, you know how Bush is trying to get America thinking ‘alternative’ to oil. This so blatantly holds a muzzle to the consumer's head that I'm amazed there's no outcry. Or are the exporters actually altruistically forcing the consumer to stop polluting the atmosphere?