Oil Prices Fall Due to Developments in Iran, the Eurozone, China, Saudi Arabia and the United States

摘要

On the oil price front, weeks past but none are alike. In the second and third weeks of May, crude oil prices fell in both London and New York. On ICE Futures in London, the price of Brent was at $112.24/barrel at the close on 15 May, the day before AOG went to press, $0.67/b up from the day before, while on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nynnex) the price of light sweet crude shed $0.80/b to close at only $93.98/b that day. As for the price of the OPEC crude basket, it was down to $108.70/b on 15 May (see charts on page 4 and the table on page 5), compared with a little over $117/b towards the end of April (AOG, 1 May, 2012). It is obviously too early to say how long the current weakness in the nnarket will last, but it has in any event put an end, at leasttennporarily, to the upsurge in oil prices that began at the end of 2011 due to the mounting tensions around Iran and the Gulf region. To gauge the extent of the current downward movement, it should be borne in mind that the high point for Brent so far this year was around $128/b.