Greek budget deal leads to rise in crude prices

Brent crude prices rose by more than US$ 1 on Monday as it was revealed that the Greek parliament had finally agreed to strict austerity measures in order to continue receiving bailout funds from the European Central Bank and the IMF.

This rise in prices saw Brent crude futures head over US$ 188 per bbl, back towards the six month high that they reached last week. Although the move by the Greek government has restored some confidence in the markets, the widespread rioting and street violence occurring throughout Greece show that the problem is, as yet, far from solved.

Analysts, however, have predicted that whilst Brent prices may fall back towards US$ 112, there are still a variety of other global factors likely to see oil prices rise again. Disruption in Syria, declining output from Iran, economic recovery in the US, and continuing growth-related demand from China look set to maintain a modicum of stability in prices.

The questions over Iran’s nuclear programme remain the most high-profile of the issues supporting oil prices; on Saturday Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said that at some point in the next few days Iran would announce some major developments in the highly controversial programme.

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