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Oil stayed just above $93 per barrel yesterday. (Hasan Jamali/ Associated Press) |
NEW YORK — With investors still concerned about the European financial crisis, oil leveled off yesterday.
Benchmark crude for July delivery gained 25 cents to settle at $93.26 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The July contract expires today, and most of the trading switched to the August contract, which added 23 cents to settle at $93.63 per barrel.
All eyes remain on Greece, which is trying to implement tough new austerity measures to keep international aid coming so it can deal with its debt crisis. Without that aid, investors worry that Greece’s financial troubles could spread to other European countries.
Moody’s has warned it may downgrade its debt rating on three of France’s largest banks because of their exposure to Greek debt. Moody’s said it may reduce Italy’s credit rating due to poor growth prospects and high public debt.
The dollar was fairly steady. Oil is priced in dollars and tends to fall as the dollar rises and makes crude more expensive for investors holding foreign money.
US gas pump prices slipped to $3.646 per gallon, according to AAA and others. A gallon of regular is 22.1 cents cheaper than a month ago, but 91.2 cents higher than at the same time last year.
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