Have oil prices already overshot?

Another day, another $5 on the cost of a barrel of crude. At this rate it will not be long before prices revisit the highs above $140 seen in 2008. Given the pace at which markets are moving and events are unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), we are of course extremely wary of making any strong calls on what happens next. Nonetheless, a closer look at what actually appears to be happening on the ground – in Libya, Algeria and Saudi Arabia – is reassuring.