Oil prices mixed after Greece clinches

Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday after Greece secured a huge bailout and as Iran supply worries eased, traders said. Prices hit the highest levels in nine months on Monday in anticipation of a Greek deal and after Iran said it would halt oil exports to Britain and France. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April fell 60 cents to $119.45 per barrel in London midday deals. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, rose $1.28 to $104.52. "Obviously there's a cheer in Europe over the news in Greece ... but Iran is raining on their parade," said Justin Harper, head of research at IG Markets Singapore. "And there's still a long way to go for Europe and Greece, so it's not really time to celebrate yet," he told AFP. I think with the Brent (contract), the initial panic over Iran is going away, pushing prices downwards ... people are actually calming down after realising that this is a game of political brinksmanship from Iran." Despite the deal on Athens, "there are still uncertainties in Europe and Greece," Harper noted. "Greece may need a third bailout so it's a long time before we see demand in Europe come up again." The deal came after marathon talks in Brussels that saw Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos -- a former European Central Bank number two -- act as go-between for ministers with negotiators for private creditors. The deal will bring government debt in Athens down to 120.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020, a eurozone governmental source told AFP. The figure is just a fraction above the 120-percent target set by the European Union and International Monetary Fund and means a 5.5-billion-euro gap in funding was reached to bring it down from an estimated 129 percent. On Monday, the Brent and New York contracts reached $121.15 and $105.44 respectively -- their highest levels since May 5, 2011. Iran on Sunday announced that it was halting its oil sales to France and Britain in retaliation for a phased European Union ban on its crude, which has yet to take full effect. The decision is not expected to have a big impact as France last year bought only three percent of its oil -- 58,000 barrels per day -- from Tehran, while Britain is believed to no longer be importing Iranian oil at all. But it is seen as a warning shot to other EU nations that are much more dependent on imports from the Islamic republic, including Italy, Spain and Greece. Tehran on Monday insisted that it would cut oil exports to more EU nations if they remain "hostile." Exports to Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands would be stopped, deputy oil minister Ahmad Qalebani said.