The political situation in Libya remains unsettled as both Ghaddafi and the rebels are intent on continuing the struggle towards a victorious end and only one side can win. The longer the struggle continues, the more cracks appear in other governments such as Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain. Of course, the biggest problem for world markets would be if troubles were to surface in Saudi Arabia but so far the Kingdom has shown both its largesse towards the greater population as well as armed strength and that has left the opposition unable to bring greater numbers of demonstrators to anhy public place.
The U.S. economy seems to be improving as the equities markets is on the rebound but inventories have been building and that indicates weaker than expected demand.
Japan, the world's third largest economy, is still trying to grapple with the looming nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Dai Ichi power plant. News that there was a major plutonium leak at the plant cannot make recovery efforts move forward and the economy with it.
With all these world events in mind, the biggest contributor to the pricing equation is the Middle East risk premium. Today, WTI +80¢, $104.78; Brent +47¢, $115.27; gasoline +2.25¢, $3.0458; distillate +1.98¢, $3.0415.
No comments:
Post a Comment