LONDON (Dow Jones)--The International Energy Agency said Thursday that $100-a-barrel oil provides a big reminder for consuming nations to improve efficient use of energy resources and to step up investments in new oil supplies and alternative energy resources.
"$100/barrel may be just a symbolic figure but it is a strong reminder that consumers and governments have to implement measures that improve energy efficiency," the Paris-based energy watchdog said in a statement.
The agency said a confluence of factors, including cold weather, falling U.S. oil inventories and an "unusual" flow of investment fund money into commodities at the start of 2008, had pushed U.S. oil future prices to the $100 a barrel level on Wednesday.
The agency, the energy watchdog for wealthy industrialized nations, reiterated its concerns about the affect of rising oil prices on consumers but did not issue a fresh call for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to boost oil production, as it's done in recent months.