Oil prices are poised to break through $80 per barrel and Asia’s demand is at a record, pushing the cost of the region’s thirst for crude to $1 trillion this year, about twice what it was during the market lull of 2015/2016. Oil prices have gained 20 percent since January to just shy of $80 per barrel LCOc1, a level not seen since 2014. [O/R] With the U.S. dollar .DXY – in which virtually all oil is traded – also growing stronger, concerns are rising that economies will take a hit, especially in import-reliant Asia. Surging costs could have an inflationary effect that will hurt both consumers and companies. “Asia is most vulnerable to an oil price spike,” Canadian investment […]