Oil slips with metals still under pressure - Financial Times

Tuesday 21.10 GMT. Oil prices are slipping from recent highs, helping stock indices recovery some of the sharp losses of the past few sessions as energy prices hit new highs.

Brent crude is down 2.1 per cent to $112.68, about $6 off Monday’s high, after Kuwait said it was in talks with other Opec members to boost production in order to make up lost supply out of Libya, where fighting continues.

The pullback in oil is lending some support to stocks. The FTSE All-World is up 0.3 per cent – but investors remain wary that potential Middle East flashpoints could occur this week, particularly in Saudi Arabia where a day of protest on Friday has been called by some activists.

In addition, traders are concerned that Wall Street’s 0.8 per cent fall on Monday came in spite of oil prices easing during the US session, a signal perhaps that the market is using the energy shock as an excuse to deliver the long-anticipated risk asset correction.

The S&P 500 index is up 0.9 per cent on Tuesday, and the Nasdaq Composite index, weighted heavily toward tech, is up 0.7 per cent, now well above the 50-day moving average line that it dipped below on Monday.

And what bulls did not need right now was a resurgence of eurozone fiscal worries. But the euro’s rally has stalled as traders note Greek bond yields jumping to a fresh record following Moody’s downgrade on Monday. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c52b2380-4864-11e0-b323-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1G3K2EpSv