Oil prices surged following Saudi Arabia's Royal Court announcement of the death of King Abdullah on Friday. Brent crude climbed as much as 2.6 percent, while West Texas Intermediate jumped 3.1 percent, following the announcement. It is yet to be seen whether Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest oil producer, will change its policies with respect to its oil output, but many analysts do not expect Saudi's oil policies to change with the crowning of King Abdullah's half-brother, Crown Prince Salman. In fact, Bloomberg reports that King Salman announced he will maintain the policies of his predecessor and that Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi will remain in his post.
Stay tuned as we continue to monitor this development.