PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visits to the Middle East and Africa were overshadowed by the skyrocketing price of crude oil. Throughout last week, crude oil on the international market continued to score a record price. In Thursday's trading, the crude oil price on the New York Mercantile Exchange touched as high as US$111, before finally closing at US$110.33 per barrel.

The US dollar exchange slump against other currencies was one of the re