Crude falls as Iran says it'll release U.K. sailors ~ Iran... pardoned 15 U.K. Navy personnel...?

Marketwatch ^ | 10:16 AM ET Apr 4, 2007 | Myra P. Saefong & Ciara Linnane, MarketWatch

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures fell below $64 a barrel Wednesday morning after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pardoned 15 U.K. Navy personnel being held captive by Tehran and said they would be released, ending a diplomatic crisis that had threatened oil supplies in the region.

"As tensions ease, it is not surprising to see some of the risk premium leak from prices," said Michael Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Fimat USA.

"But the Iranian nuclear situation hasn't been unwound so there is still plenty to worry about, which is why we are inclined to think the market has a very limited downside scope," he said in a note to clients.

Crude for May delivery was last down 1.3%, or 84 cents, to $63.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as low as $63.60, its weakest intraday level since March 27. The contract lost 2% of its value on Tuesday as traders began to unwind the risk premium built into prices during the crisis.

Ahmadinejad used a news conference for the Persian New Year to announce that the British sailors would be released, easing concerns about supplies. The announcement was not a major surprise; the U.K. government had said earlier it believed that Iran would like an "early resolution" to the crisis.

The 15 sailors were seized by armed Iranian forces 13 days ago and charged with trespassing in Iranian waters. The U.K. had insisted they were in Iraqi waters, patrolling under a United Nations mandate when they were captured.

[TSchmereL]

Hooray! We are capitulating for oil!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Pardoned?

[johnny7]

New Pelosi talking-point: Appeasement leads to lower gasoline prices...

[Eva]

Excuse me, crude started falling yesterday, before the announcement. Does that mean that the markey knew that Iran was going to release the prisoners before we did?

[TommyDale]

Crude falls, but pump prices will remain inflated. They only go up when there is bad news, but they never go down when there is good news.

[stevie_d_64]

So we can assume that the price at the pump will come down as quickly as it went up over the last couple of weeks???

Get back down to about $2.20 average??? hmmmmm???

I guess it would be nice to see it at least come down about .10 - .15 cents as it went up in about 2 days??? (last week?)

You know by Friday, that would be great...Holiday weekend...People driving to see Grandma...Hunting Easter eggs and all that...

As fast as it goes up, I don’t see any reason why it should not come down as fast...

[unkus]

“New Pelosi talking-point: Appeasement leads to lower gasoline prices...”

Well, pretty soon we should have a nickle a gallon gas.

[Pox]

Iran needed some extra cash to pay off the Russians to finish their nuke plant. Now that they have enough hard cash to pay off the Russians, they no longer need the hostages.

This almost makes sense.

[the_devils_advocate_666]

And I just filled up my car last night, damn.

[WhiteGuy]

Does that mean that the markey knew that Iran was going to release the prisoners before we did?

Yes, of course.

[bvw]

The recent rises in the price of gold, including this morning, are still yelling — well — instability.

[AZRepublican]

How the hell cares oil falls anymore, it will just rise tomorrow.

[txoilman]

Oil price is falling because Iran will releash the British Sailors and Marines. That is impossible because Bill OReilly said last night that the American Petroleum Industry was resposible for the higher oil prices.

[TLI]

So we can assume that the price at the pump will come down as quickly as it went up over the last couple of weeks???

Check this out...

Oil Falls After Iran's President Says He Will Release Britons By Mark Shenk April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that he will release 15 seized Britons, easing concern of a conflict in the Persian Gulf. Prices surged to a seven-month high last week after Iran seized the sailors and marines in waters separating Iran and Iraq. The standoff has heightened tensions with Iran, which is under United Nations sanctions for its nuclear program. Prices pared losses after an Energy Department report showed that U.S. gasoline supplies plunged last week. ``There was at least $3 to $4 added to the price of oil as a result of the seizure,'' said Rick Mueller, an analyst with Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Tilburg, the Netherlands. ``This won't suddenly lead to a recovery of Iraqi production or OPEC increasing its output but it does reduce a lot of concern about the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.''

According to this the price of crude will immedeatly go down four bucks...

thinking pigs... wings...

[TBP]

Soooo nice of Hitler in a Headscarf to “pardon” these sailors.

I wonder what we’re giving this thug instead of bombing his house, destroying his one refinery, knocking out the country’s nuclear capacity, blockading and mining their harbors, and arresting their UN delegation as spies, then sending them to Gitmo.

(All of which I’d still do.)

The wimpy nature of the Blair regime and the Bush Administration too is offensive.

I guess the Mad Mullahs are through raping the woman now.

[stevie_d_64]

True...True...

[Marine_Uncle]

"Pardoned?"
Now they can go back to burying women up to their necks and dropping heavy stones on their heads.