Fear is a key component of higher oil prices. With Egyptian protests ramping up in intensity, traders' fears that the oil markets could be affected have driven the price of Brent oil up to nearly $108 per barrel. In the following video, Motley Fool analyst Taylor Muckerman plans on watching how this situation progresses over the next week but says that any government shakeups and changes to current laws affecting oil production will have a far greater impact than the protests. This is a scenario that is very unlikely to affect the oil markets in the near term, but the long-term outlook could definitely be altered depending on the progress made.