OIL: Prices fall 50-65c as Greece defaults on IMF loan

Brent and US benchmark crude prices fell 50-65c a barrel on Wednesday after Greece defaulted on its €1.6 bln loan to the IMF at midnight Tuesday, with the dollar also gaining on the euro.

Greece became the first developed economy to default on a loan from international creditors as the nation braces for a referendum on Sunday that will determine if it will stay within the eurozone.
The stronger dollar (USDEUR 1.1147) pressured crude prices with Brent futures trading $63.09 a barrel and the US WTI at $58.82.
Analysts said rising production from the OPEC cartel of oil producers as well as in the United States was also weighing on prices.
Iraqi’s crude output climbed to a record level in June while OPEC supply rose by 300,000 barrels per day to a three-year high of 31.60 mln bpd, following the collective increase in output by 1.3 mln bpd since it decided in November 2014 to defend market share rather than prices.