Oil prices fall as Greek debt crisis weighs

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NEW YORK: Oil prices fell to nearly a four-month low Friday in New York as investors fretted about the impact of Greece's debt crisis on the global economy and demand.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for July delivery, finished at $93.01 a barrel, down $1.94 from Thursday's close.

Earlier the WTI contract was at $91.84, its lowest level since late February.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for August delivery fell 81 cents to settle at $113.21 a barrel.

The benchmark New York contract has shed more than $6 this week in seesaw trade that saw a loss of over $4 Wednesday and a tiny gain on Thursday.

The market's inability to rebound Thursday "really sent a bearish signal for the crude market," said Matt Smith at Summit Energy.

"The lack of response in buying has spurred on the selling today," he added.

Smith said the market action once again had been dominated by the Greek crisis, as the eurozone-member country seeks a second international bailout to avert defaulting on its sovereign debt.

"The overwhelming concern is that the situation with Greece will end up with them either defaulting or leaving the euro," rattling the 17-nation bloc that shares the currency, he said.

"There has been very little buying interest and a complete lack of confidence on the market."

A joint call Friday by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a new Greek rescue package as soon as possible raised hopes for a breakthrough in the fraught political process that led equities and the euro higher.

But the relief rallies appeared to have a short shelf life given the depths of the European Union's eurozone debt problems.

"No matter what Greece does, no matter what Merkel and Sarkozy come up with, no matter how the IMF/EU repackages it, Greece is going to default," said Michael Fitzpatrick at the Kilduff Report.

"It may come dressed up as a 'restructuring' but it is the same thing." (AFP)