Investing.com - Crude oil futures declined on Thursday, easing off a five-week high after euro zone finance ministers postponed a decision on whether to sign off on a second bailout package for Greece, as investors continued to eye a disruption to supplies from Iran.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at USD101.39 a barrel during European morning trade, dropping 0.73%.
It earlier fell by as much 1.1% to trade at a session low USD101.39 a barrel.
Concerns Greece was headed towards a messy sovereign debt default escalated after reports emerged Wednesday that European Union officials were looking at ways to delay the second Greek bailout until after general elections in April.
A three-hour teleconference call between euro zone finance ministers failed to resolve all the issues surrounding a second aid package for Athens, putting off any decision on the matter until Monday at the earliest.
Without a bailout, Greece faces the threat of defaulting when a EUR14.5 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
The news prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as industrial commodities and stocks and flock to traditional safe haven assets like the U.S. dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.45% to trade at 80.10, the highest since January 25.
Meanwhile, oil traders continued to focus on developments surrounding a potential disruption to Iranian oil exports.
On Wednesday, crude prices spiked to a five-week high of USD102.88 a barrel after Iranian media outlets reported that the country stopped exporting oil to six euro zone countries in retaliation to European Union sanctions last month.
However, prices retraced those gains after Iran's Oil Ministry denied the state media reports.
Iran is the world’s third largest oil exporter, after Saudi Arabian and Russia. The threat of a major supply disruption from the country has helped support oil prices in recent weeks.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for April delivery dipped 0.2% to trade close to a six-month high of USD118.69 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD17.30.
Brent prices were boosted by fresh supply worries from South Sudan, after Sudan seized another 2.4 million barrels of crude over a continued dispute on payment issues.
South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war, but the two countries have remained at odds over issues including oil, debt and fighting along the poorly drawn border.
Oil output was also halted from Yemen's Masila oilfield, the country's largest, after workers went on strike over pay issues.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at USD101.39 a barrel during European morning trade, dropping 0.73%.
It earlier fell by as much 1.1% to trade at a session low USD101.39 a barrel.
Concerns Greece was headed towards a messy sovereign debt default escalated after reports emerged Wednesday that European Union officials were looking at ways to delay the second Greek bailout until after general elections in April.
A three-hour teleconference call between euro zone finance ministers failed to resolve all the issues surrounding a second aid package for Athens, putting off any decision on the matter until Monday at the earliest.
Without a bailout, Greece faces the threat of defaulting when a EUR14.5 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
The news prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as industrial commodities and stocks and flock to traditional safe haven assets like the U.S. dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.45% to trade at 80.10, the highest since January 25.
Meanwhile, oil traders continued to focus on developments surrounding a potential disruption to Iranian oil exports.
On Wednesday, crude prices spiked to a five-week high of USD102.88 a barrel after Iranian media outlets reported that the country stopped exporting oil to six euro zone countries in retaliation to European Union sanctions last month.
However, prices retraced those gains after Iran's Oil Ministry denied the state media reports.
Iran is the world’s third largest oil exporter, after Saudi Arabian and Russia. The threat of a major supply disruption from the country has helped support oil prices in recent weeks.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for April delivery dipped 0.2% to trade close to a six-month high of USD118.69 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD17.30.
Brent prices were boosted by fresh supply worries from South Sudan, after Sudan seized another 2.4 million barrels of crude over a continued dispute on payment issues.
South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war, but the two countries have remained at odds over issues including oil, debt and fighting along the poorly drawn border.
Oil output was also halted from Yemen's Masila oilfield, the country's largest, after workers went on strike over pay issues.