Brent oil price closes week at $105 on economic concerns

Brent oil futures close Friday’s trading session back near $105 a barrel as economic concerns in Europe help push oil prices lower as debt problems in euro zone countries continue to affect markets.

Brent Oil Futures – Closing Price

Brent crude oil futures for August 2011 delivery ended the week’s trading session at $105.42 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange yesterday evening, $7.84 lower than last week’s closing price of $113.26 a barrel.

Euro Debt Concerns

Serious debt concerns in Greece are having an effect on European banks who stand to loose a fortune if Greece cannot pay back interest payments on loans issued.

Yesterday, French banks and insurance companies stated that they are willing to take part in a voluntary rollover of Greek debt, French President Nicolas Sarkozy commented. In plain English this means that the banks are prepared to wait a while for their payments, rather than not receive a payment at all. French and German banks are the most exposed to the debt situation surrounding Greece.

Financial Meltdown

“Everybody is trying to digest how the European debt situation is going to shake out. They’re playing an expensive game of chicken with Greece because the downside of not passing a bailout for that country is effectively a financial system meltdown.” said Jason Pride, director of investment strategy at Glenmede, Philadelphia.

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Brent oil price closes week at $105 on economic concerns