Everyone wants to knows why oil prices, at around $125 for a barrel of Brent crude, are so high ? The answer is the long-term trends are miniscule supply growth and soaring demand from China and other emerging economies.

Also in the short term, the market is tight, supplies have been disrupted and Iran with its nuclear capability is making everyone nervous.

Look at the global oil consumption. Demand from emerging countries is growing.

From 2000-2010, our crude oil consumption has grown over +22.1%. At our current Malaysia oil consumption, we are consuming almost 550k-600k barrels per day.

Source: Economist.