Brent crude oil futures remained above $100 per barrel on Thursday as speculation mounted that the Egyptian leader was poised to resign after three decades of autocratic rule, Bloomberg reports.
But Hosni Mubarak addressed the nation on Thursday and said he was yielding power to the vice president, which protestors in the capital of the North Africa Arab nation met by chanting "Leave! Leave! Leave!" according to the Associated Press. When the anti-Mubarak protests began last month, oil futures climbed to their highest prices in two years.
"What we don't know is if this is 1979 Iran all over again or if it's completely different," Stephen Schork, president of the Schork Group in Pennsylvania.
In 1979, Islamic clerics ousted the U.S.-friendly shah of Iran and prices for crude oil at least doubled. The fiercest opposition to Mubarak is the Muslim Brotherhood.
After 4 p.m. on Thursday, Brent crude oil futures were down 0.28 percent, a 0.29 cent decrease to $101.53.
"I have seen that it is required to delegate the powers and authorities of the president to the vice president as dictated in the constitution," the Egyptian leader said on state TV.
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