"The worst period appears to be ending for now. The mood of panic has been fading,"
said Toshikazu Horiuchi, an analyst at Cosmo Securities. Global crude futures moved higher in European morning trading on Friday and even traded above $90/barrel, extending gains seen during Thursday's late session following news of a US stimulus plan worth $150 billion for the economy to fight against recessionary tendencies.

"There has been no impact so far. It could affect credit lines--banks are less willing to offer letters of credit to physical players. This could mean matching parties could become more difficult, but we have not seen or heard that yet,"
a London-based broker said. High infrastructure costs and a strong euro are impacting trading activity in European oil and products swaps markets more than the threat of any impending credit crunch, sources said.

Updated: January 25, 2008