The price of Brent crude opened Tuesday’s trading session holding near $104 a barrel following a big sell off on Monday, broadly in line with a 4 percent fall in the price of WTI crude futures.<\/p>\n
Latest Brent Oil Price<\/strong><\/p>\n In London, Brent crude oil futures for September 2012 delivery was trading at $104.02 a barrel, 07.04 GMT this morning on the ICE Futures Exchange. Benchmark US crude prices fell by $3.69, or 4 percent, to finish Mondday at $88.14 per barrel on the NYMEX.<\/p>\n European Debt Concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n Demand for riskier assets was hit by a surge in Spain\u2019s borrowing costs, which came after the Valencia region asked the central government for financial aid.<\/p>\n Yields on Spain\u2019s benchmark 10 year bonds soared to a euro record of 7.5 percent on Monday, fuelling fears that Europe\u2019s fourth largest economy could become the next member of the monetary union to ask for a full bailout.<\/p>\n In addition, German magazine Spiegel reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is reluctant to provide further aid to Greece.<\/p>\n This morning credit ratings agency Moody’s has warned the outlook for Germany’s AAA credit rating is negative, the first step towards a possible downgrade. Ratings for the eurozone’s other top-rated economies, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, were also put on negative outlooks.<\/p>\n Concerns over the debts of Europe’s economies are no doubt a large factor for the short term price of oil.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n