Brent oil prices open Wednesday’s trading session back near $103 a barrel following a slight upswing after encouraging economic data from China came out yesterday, however the European debt crisis rolls on and is set to hit oil demand as a result.
Latest Brent Oil Price
In London, Brent crude oil futures for September 2012 delivery was trading at $102.95 a barrel, 06:25 GMT today on the ICE Futures Exchange. The contract opened the session at $103.18.
European Crisis and Demand
The European debt crisis rolls on and Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook for Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative on Monday, citing the region’s fiscal crisis. Greece’s creditors met on Tuesday amid skepticism that the country will achieve bailout targets.
“These downgrades can only reinforce the concern in the market. All these financial risks will add anxiety into how demand will pan out,” James Ratnam, an analyst at TA Securities Holdings Bhd., said by phone.
“The endless eurozone debt crisis and slowing growth rates in China continue to preoccupy market participants. So, given the ongoing uncertainty, many saw a perfect opportunity to take profits yesterday. Crude trade is set to remain volatile this week,” noted VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.
The price of Brent crude could take a swing lower, not only due to demand concerns but the US dollars strength is still a big factor to boot that is still rising as investors seek safe havens from a weaker euro currency.
The euro tumbled to a two-year low against the dollar for a third consecutive session on Tuesday. Analysts said the euro looked poised to take out the key $1.20 area in the coming days.
Original post:
Brent oil price falls back towards $103 as European crisis set to hit demand
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.