Rising fuel prices: The constant sorrow of the airline industry

Throughout the past year's stuttering recovery, oil prices have constantly loomed in the shadows. They now seem to be about to subvert the recovery agenda. The Middle East is unlikely to return to normality quickly and, although there is no real shortage of oil yet, there is sufficient nervousness - and speculators with an interest in inflated prices - to push the level unpredictably. The double jeopardy too is that uncertainty tends to push the safe-haven US dollar higher, implying even larger cost increases in many other currencies.