(ICIS) -- Brent crude futures fell by more than $1/bbl on Thursday amid concerns over eurozone debt, but the price spread between WTI and Brent narrowed, with the US benchmark buoyed by a plan to reverse the oil flow of a pipeline from the US midwest to the Gulf coast region.
At 12:05 GMT, January Brent crude on London's ICE futures exchange was trading at $109.50/bbl, down by $2.38/bbl from the previous close. Earlier, the North Sea benchmark fell to a session low of $109.35/bbl, down by $2.53/bbl from Wednesday's close.
December NYMEX light sweet crude futures (WTI) were at $101.03/bbl, down by $1.56/bbl from the previous close. Earlier, the US benchmark fell to a session low of $100.84/bbl, down by $1.75/bbl.
Concerns over the eurozone rose on Thursday amid tensions between France and Germany over the role of the European Central Bank (ECB) in countering the eurozone debt crisis. France has urged the ECB to take on a more active role. Analysts have suggested the ECB should buy large volumes of European bonds in a move similar to the quantitative-easing programmes implemented by the US and UK. However, Germany insists that European regulations prevent such measures.
Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.