Tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran's alleged nuclear ambitions on one hand coupled with fears of a recession in Europe and sluggish growth in the U.S. on the other have been battling to offset one another.
European debt fears appeared to be grabbing the spotlight again Monday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at USD93.44 a barrel in early in the session, down 0.34%.
The commodity hit a session high of USD93.86 and a low of 93.33 so far on Monday.
Over the weekend, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated his opposition to using monetary policy to boost the continent's financial sector and ease the debt crisis.
Doing so, Draghi and other central bankers have insisted, would fuel inflationary pressures and go against their mandate to provide price stability.
"The important thing is to restore the trust of the people – citizens as well as investors – in our continent. We won’t achieve that by destroying the credibility of the ECB. This is really, in a sense, the undertone of all our conversation today," Draghi told the Financial Times.
Those comments helped send the euro weakening against a firming dollar, a currency that often trades inversely from oil. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.18% at 80.83 early Monday.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery were down 0.77%, trading at USD102.89 a barrel, up USD9.45 from its U.S. counterpart.
The gap in price between the two contracts hovers between a nearly USD20.00 all-time high and a historical spread of USD1.00. For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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