The European commission yesterday called for a fuel summit between the main oil-producing and consuming countries to promote a better functioning of crude oil markets. The commission will urge next week's EU summit to implement greater transparency on Europe's commercial stocks of crude oil and petroleum products to foil speculators.

The EU's executive body insisted that the main EU drive should be to wean its citizens off oil-dependence and point them towards a low-carbon economy. The commission warned that fuel prices would remain high in the medium- to long-term because of a structural shift in oil supply and demand in the global economy, with energy demand set to be 50% higher in 2030 than in 2007. ... Read full article