Oil prices linger on concerns of the debt-ceiling standoff in Washington

01-Aug-11

Oil prices have lingered as traders kept a close eye on the debt-ceiling standoff in Washington for signs of how it would impact the world's largest economy. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, inched up to US$97.4, while in London, Brent North Sea crude for September dipped to US$117.36 on the ICE. Politicians in Washington have been locked in a tense deadlock over raising the US government's US$14.29 trillion debt ceiling. This raise in being debated despite a looming deadline, now only five days away, for a possible default. The US Treasury has warned that if Congress fails to raise the borrowing limit by Tuesday, the United States may be forced to default on its debts, which could have catastrophic effects on financial markets.