Oil prices rise on EU Greece support, Iran impasse

May 25, 2012 | 10:42

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Oil prices perked up Thursday after European leaders reaffirmed their desire to see Greece stay in the euro and Iran and world powers deadlocked in talks over its disputed nuclear programme.

Norwegian energy giant Statoil's Huldra oil rig in the North Sea. Oil prices rebounded slightly on Thursday as investors went bargain hunting after New York crude slumped below $90 a barrel the previous day, analysts said

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for delivery in July, rose 76 cents to close at $90.66 a barrel.

The WTI futures contract had hit $89.90 on Wednesday, its lowest level since October.

In London trade, Brent North Sea crude for July gained 99 cents to $106.55, after tumbling almost $3 the previous day to a five-month low.

Matt Smith at Summit Energy said the markets were taking a breather after being hammered by negative news of late, particularly from Europe.

The fact that WTI has topped $90 gives "a bit of hope" to investors who have watched the contract shed $16 in the past three weeks.

The slight bounce in optimism was underpinned by a European Union summit late Wednesday. The 27 member countries are "looking to save Greece, so that brought a lot of support there," Smith said.

In Baghdad, two days of tough talks aimed at helping resolve the stand-off between major oil producer Iran and major economies over Tehran's nuclear program wound up Thursday with no significant progress.

Major powers Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany tabled a proposal that included sweeteners to persuade Iran to abandon enriching uranium but Tehran balked at the offer.

Iran has faced crippling sanctions over its nuclear program, which much of the international community believe is masking a push to develop atomic weapons.

Tehran denies the claims.

The parties agreed to meet again in Moscow on June 18-19, said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

AFP

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