It's All About the Oil

Oil Falls to Lowest Level in Three Weeks on Plans to Delay Iranian Embargo

Oil dropped to a three-week low after two European Union officials said an embargo on Iranian crude imports may be postponed for six months.

Crude fell 0.4 percent as officials said that the ban would be delayed to allow nations to find new supply. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will go to Tehran to discuss Iran's nuclear program, two diplomats said. Futures also declined after French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said Standard & Poor's is stripping France of its AAA credit rating.

Geopolitics heat up; oil price premium settles in

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Flare-ups in geopolitical hot spots such as Iran are nothing new to the oil markets, so commonplace for the market that there may actually be a "permanent premium" built into the price.

That premium is particularly important for a market that, nowadays, struggles to balance global demand with shrinking spare production capacity from major oil producers.

US warns Iran to leave Persian Gulf oil route alone, clash shows risk of larger war

WASHINGTON — Tensions rising by the day, the Obama administration said Friday it is warning Iran through public and private channels against any action that threatens the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. The Navy revealed that two U.S. ships in and near the Gulf were harassed by Iranian speedboats last week.

Spokesmen were vague on what the United States would do about Iran's threat to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, but military officials have been clear that the U.S. is readying for a possible naval clash.

Cameron in Saudi says world will keep open oil route

(Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron said the world would "come together" to prevent Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz oil shipment route and that Russia should take a tougher stance against Syria during his visit to Saudi Arabia Friday.

Iran last month threatened to blockade the strategically vital strait if it was subjected to any new international sanctions over its nuclear program, which it says is for civilian use, but which Western countries believe is aimed at building an atomic bomb.

Cameron calls for Saudi oil production rise

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called on the king of Saudi Arabia to step up his country's oil production in the face of Iranian threats to block off the sea corridor through which one sixth of the world's oil supplies pass.

In private talks with King Abdullah during an official visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday, Mr Cameron expressed Britain's fears that a blockade could destabilise the world economy.

Saudi ready to meet a rise in oil demand: Naimi

DHAHRAN - Top oil producer Saudi Arabia is ready to meet any increase in consumer countries' demand for crude oil, oil minister Ali Al Naimi told reporters on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia is "always obliged" to meet demand, Naimi said when asked whether the kingdom has enough spare capacity to cover demand in light of possible oil sanctions by the West on Iran's crude oil sales.

Saudis have enough oil to make up for Iran

WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia says it has enough oil output capacity to meet global customers' needs if new sanctions keep Iran from exporting oil, a top US Republican lawmaker said on Friday.

Iran says not storing oil in Gulf due to sanctions

(Reuters) - Iran has not stored oil on tankers in the Gulf, and its crude exports have not been disrupted due to mounting international pressure over its disputed nuclear program, an oil official told the semi-official Mehr news agency on Saturday.

Negotiating Iran: Can U.S. End the Standoff?

"U.S. Not Keen On Negotiating With Iran"

That's the headline of a recent news clip that featured a panel of experts discussing the economic sanctions against Iran and the Iranian threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage way for oil tankers. While each of the three experts had different opinions on the matter, the sentiment seemed to be same: negotiations are nowhere on the horizon.