The Morning Briefing: Oil pricing - the new Greece?
"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about crude oil pricing and political ramifications.
1.) Oil settles below $107 in Asia amid Iran tension. Hovering just below $107 a barrel on Monday in Asia, tensions over Iran continue to keep crude oil stocks at 10-month highs. In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil benchmarked for April delivery was up 7 cents to $106.77 late afternoon, whereas Brent crude lowered by 10 cents to $123.55 per barrel in London.
See also: NYMEX-U.S. crude up, Middle East tensions support.
2.) U.S. oil line to be closed for four more days. Enbridge Inc. said Sunday that a core segment of its oil pipeline system in the U.S. Midwest will remain shut down for up to four more days. A serious vehicle accident in Illinois caused an oil leak and fire, which originally closed the pipeline -- and the repercussions are likely to be felt by refiners in the region.
3.) Oil Is the New Greece? HSBC Chief Economist Stephen King's new report suggests that rising oil prices is more of a concern for investors than Greece. If oil prices continue to rise, could it have implications for economic recovery, and cause inflation?
4.) The only reason gas is $5-A-Gallon is that companies have convinced us pricing is out of their control. Speculation and analysis: in what ways can oil companies market their product in order to raise price and profit for the average consumer?
5.) The week ahead: Oil, gas, defence and UK interest. Predictions for market movements this week, and what traders should keep their eyes on. Corporate earnings, the Bank of England, oil supplies and interest rates.
Bonus: The Butterfly Effect, coated in oil.
Image credit: Roger Wollstadt
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