Oil initially declines as inventories show bigger build than expected; but National Security Advisor’s remarks on Iran upend market

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn read a statement saying the Trump administration was “officially putting Iran on notice” that it is paying attention to what it called “defiance” of nuclear agreements with its test launch of a ballistic missile. The launch ended in failure when the missile blew up about 600 miles into its flight. West Texas Intermediate, which had traded as low as $52.89, rebounded to close at $53.57 a barrel, up 1.44%.

Markets “put” their faith in the European Central Bank

There’s been the Greenspan put, the Bernanke put, and the Yellen put–the belief that the Federal Reserve would ride to the rescue if U.S. stocks showed signs of struggling. Today let’s add the Draghi put as European stock markets demonstrate their faith that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will support EuroZone financial markets after Sunday’s big loss in a constitutional referendum vote by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi