SINGAPORE: Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Friday as investors await the final outcome of the latest EU summit on tackling its debt crisis while Greek protests over tough austerity measures turned violent.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November, was down 10 cents to $92.00 a barrel in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December clawed nine cents higher to $112.51.
European Union leaders meeting in Brussels vowed Friday to set up a banking union during the course of 2013 as a vital crisis-fighting tool, but clashes between protesters and riot police in Greece highlighted the difficulties ahead.
Tens of thousands of people took part in the Athens protest Thursday while a smaller demonstration was held in Greece's second city Thessaloniki, ahead of a broader mobilisation in southern European countries planned for next month.
Scattered groups of youths threw stones and firebombs at the police, who retaliated with tear gas and stun grenades then charged to clear the square.
Greeks reject additional cutbacks the government plans next month in order to unlock access to EU-IMF loans for their debt-saddled country.
But DBS Bank said there was some positive news on the eurozone front.
The "tail risks of the eurozone crisis have been mitigated by looser monetary policies in the advanced economies", it said in a market commentary.
"In September, fears of a break-up in the euro were substantially eased by the European Central Bank's (plan to buy government bonds) and the Federal Reserve announcing a third round of quantitative easing," it added.
Other analysts said macro-economic indicators and geopolitical tensions are likely to drive price sentiment in the fourth quarter of the year.
"This year, we've seen supply disruptions arising from political unrest in Libya, Yemen and Sudan. Tougher sanctions against Iran have also reduced supplies available to the market," said Dale Nijoka, who heads the global oil and gas practice at Ernst & Young.
"Meanwhile, the conflict in Syria continues unabated with no promise of a resolution anytime soon. These tensions will help keep geopolitical concerns at the fore in the remainder of the year and will be supportive to oil prices."
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