Oil Prices a Major Threat to Europe’s Economy, IEA’s Birol Says

Oil prices are acting as a brake on the global economy, and harming Europe in particular, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist said at a conference in London today.

Europe will need to spend 500 billion euros ($668 billion) on oil imports this year, about 200 billion euros more than average levels, if oil prices remain near current levels, the IEA’s Fatih Birol, said in London at the start of International Petroleum Week.