Crude oil prices around $60 to $70 a barrel for the next six months will have little direct impact on the Japanese economy, but look out for indirect hits if higher prices hurt consumption in the U.S., economists say.
Hurricane Katrina, moving through oil production sites in the Gulf of Mexico, put pressure on oil prices Monday, with prices rising above $70 a barrel.
But even if such price levels are sustained, the direct impact is likely to be muted for Japan, which gets more gross domestic product from energy consumption than any other country, said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities Co.