For Saudi Arabia, $100-a-Barrel Oil Is Already Here

For Saudi Arabia , $ 100 -a-barrel oil is already touching $ 100 , says Frida Ghitis .

Ghitis: Central bankers need to pay attention to price of Arab Light crude for clues about inflation outlook.

She says Riyadh 's pricing strategy is stoking global inflationary pressures, potentially forcing central banks to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The price of Saudi Arabia's flagship oil grade Arab Light rose to almost $98.47 a barrel in Europe on Wednesday .

Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities.

He is coauthor of “ The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth ’s Resources” Blas: Oil's not what it used to be.