What's Moving the Oil Markets?

What's Moving the Oil Markets?

•IPE Brent crude futures in London rose strongly in early trading on Monday after Israel vowed to expand its offensive in Lebanon, saying an immediate ceasefire would only encourage extremists and predicting that its war on Hezbollah would "change the face of the region."

•On Monday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Israel could not accept an immediate ceasefire, although it has halted air strikes for 48 hours amid global outrage over the killing of 52 people mainly women and children in the Lebanese village of Qana, AFP reported. "Israel will expand its operations against Hezbollah," Peretz told a stormy extraordinary session of parliament. "The army is ready to fulfill the objectives outlined by the government," he said. "As much as I am a man of peace, I maintain that we cannot accept an immediate ceasefire."

•The UN Security Council is expected to pass a resolution Monday that could take the international community one step closer to a confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program.

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