LP:Brent oil price hangs near $112 as stock markets again turn negative
Brent oil futures open today’s trading session hanging near $112 a barrel as speculation Europe will struggle to contain its debt crisis is once again having a negative effect on global stock markets.
Latest Brent Oil Price
In London, Brent crude oil futures for January 2012 delivery was trading at $111.86 a barrel, 07.55 GMT this morning on the ICE Futures Exchange. The December 2011 Brent contract expired yesterday.
Diving Stock Markets
Asian equity markets were trading mostly in the red on Wednesday, notwithstanding a positive session for the US markets overnight as Italian and Spanish borrowing costs continued to climb, keeping investors on tenterhooks.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.5% at 117.08 as of 10:07 a.m. in Tokyo after swinging between gains and losses at least eight times.
Market sentiment remains negative after the debt crisis worsened yesterday in most Eurozone countries, showing that the unity governments formed in Italy and Greece have not been able to calm investors.
Meanwhile, with Italy’s benchmark sovereign yield above the key 7 percent level, concerns about European defaults have only increased. The yield on Italy’s 10 year government bond flirted with the 7 percent mark again, while Spain’s 10 year yield rose to around 6.26 percent.
Spain faces a weekend general election, which polls show the ruling Socialist party is expected to lose.
“Oil prices have been suffering from renewed recession fears in the Eurozone. Fears over the ongoing debt crisis are still dominating headlines. said Andrey Kryuchenkov, a London based analyst at VTB Group who predicts Brent oil prices will end the year close to current levels.
