Brent oil price trades at $104, uncertainty on Euro debt bailout hopes

Brent oil prices opened this morning’s session trading around $104 a barrel, as uncertainty remains over hopes that Europe’s debt problems will be contained as it emerges that a default among major Euro countries would likely to drag down the US economy as well.

Latest Brent Oil Price

In London, Brent crude oil futures for November 2011 delivery was trading at $103.77 a barrel, 08.20 GMT this morning on the ICE Futures Exchange.

ESFS Votes Continue

Europe’s biggest unknown is Greece, where the government is seeking a bailout from the European Union as its debt rises.

The 17 member nations are considering enlarging the ESFS, a fund that would provide bailout loans and financial incentives when any one of the Union’s economies stumbles.

Later today the Austrian parliament will vote the expansion of the ESFS (European Financial Stability Facility), after Germany yesterday became the latest country to back the plan.

All 17 of the Euro member countries must approve the proposal before the fund could be enlarged.

“They have not fully healed from the crisis back in 2007 and never fully dealt with all the challenges that their banking system faced. It is now being compounded with what is happening in Greece.” said US President Obama during a speech in Mountain View, California.

“So they are going through a financial crisis that is scaring the world and they are trying to take responsible actions but those actions haven’t been quite as quick as they need to be.” he added.

Traders and analysts are saying saving the US economy could depend heavily on what European leaders decide in the next few days.

Oil prices and stock markets are now heavily focused on the European debt situation and short term prices will be influenced by the outcome.

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