Crude prices dip towards $99 as Greek woes offset Iran tension
London: Oil edged down toward $99 as uncertainty over a Greek debt deal offset concerns that Iran could block shipments of crude in the wake of the European Union’s decision to embargo imports of Iranian oil.
Negotiations to have Greece’s private creditors swap their bonds for new ones of a lower value are crucial to avoiding a default and contain the European debt crisis. But Eurozone governments have taken a hard line on the rates the new bonds should pay, insisting they should be below 3.5 per cent, less than the creditors are so far willing to accept.
That has raised the prospect that the deal might fail, increasing uncertainty over Greece’s future and hurting stock and commodity markets yesterday.
Benchmark oil for March delivery was down 38 cents at $99.20 a barrel by late morning in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.25 to settle at $99.58 a barrel in New York on Monday.
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