Oil prices fall as Israeli-Hamas truce appears to holdNovember 26, 2012 - 11:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The price of oil fell Monday, Nov 26, as a truce between Israel and the militant group Hamas that stopped fighting in the Gaza Strip appeared to hold despite a confrontation late last week, The Associated Press reports. Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 33 cents to $87.95 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract rose 90 cents to close at $88.28 a barrel on the Nymex after Israeli troops fired on crowds in Gaza surging toward a border fence, killing one Palestinian. Prior to the shooting, oil prices had been falling, thanks mostly to optimism that the cease-fire agreement between the two sides would prevent a broader conflict in the region that could disrupt crude supplies. The truce was struck last Wednesday to end to an eight-day Israeli offensive against Gaza militants who had fired rockets into Israel, but remains fragile. Traders were also keeping a close eye on developments in Egypt, said independent oil analyst Stephen Schork. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Sunday moved to grant himself near-absolute power, sparking street clashes between his supporters and opponents. Brent, which is used to set prices for many international varieties of oil, fell 33 cents to $111.05 a barrel. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |