What's Moving the Oil Markets?
•Bearish news weighing on the market is the expectation of
large builds in US gasoline stocks in the US when the US Energy Information
Agency releases it's figures on Wednesday. "With no fresh news on the Iran
situation it is still ever present but there is more negative news dampening the
market including the Bernanke speech," a broker said.
•Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank would keep a
vigilant watch over rising inflation. In a speech to a conference in Washington
on international monetary policy, Bernanke said the US economy was clearly
flagging but that inflation had risen to "unwelcome" levels that would require
vigilance. Bernanke's comments on inflation also caused the market odds on a
potential June interest rate hike to jump.
•- Oil markets went into a frenzy after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei on June 4 said energy supplies could be disrupted if tension escalates
between the US and Iran over the country's nuclear program. "You threaten Iran.
You say you want to direct energy in the region. If you make a single mistake
about Iran, the supply of energy will definitely be put in serious risk," he
said.