Crude oil futures logged their first loss in four sessions on Tuesday on fresh concern about debt-laden Cyprus.

There were plenty of market jitters as Cypriot politicians rejected terms, specifically a one off levy on savings, for a bailout.

Cyprus will now have to find another way to raise the €5.8bn needed to meet conditions made by international lenders in order to receive financial aid.

There is concern that Cyprus may not be able to raise enough funds, which would lead to a messy default and exit from the Eurozone.

Crude oil for April delivery lost $1.58 or 1.7% to settle at $92.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, marking its first loss in four days.

Over on the ICE futures exchange, Brent fell to a low of $107.78 a barrel in early trade on fears about the future of debt-troubled Cyprus. Brent later traded down $2.06 or 1.9% at $107.45 a barrel.

The Cyprus bailout story also sparked fears of further turmoil in the Eurozone and unnerved savers across Europe.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, the latest economic data provided some cheer including some encouraging US housing market figures.

Building permits rose by 4.6% month-on-month in February, to reach an annualised 946,000, way ahead of the 925,000 forecast by economists and the highest level since June 2008.

Housing starts, meanwhile, rose to 917,000, slightly ahead of the 915,000 forecast.

Among precious metals, nerves about Cyprus fuelled interest in the safety of gold, sending the yellow metal higher for the fourth straight session.

Gold for April added $6.70 or 0.4% to settle at $1,611.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.




CJ

Related share prices