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Players on the Greek market are extremely concerned about the rising price of oil on international markets. The unanimous opinion is that there must be stable behaviour in the price of crude oil. At least, this is what refineries in the Mediterranean region want. If the appreciation is very large, then it will be impossible to manage working capital.

The same market participants, however, noted that the direct effect of a price increase will be an appreciation of aviation fuels. Unfortunately, this cannot be avoided and it is believed that there will be a negative impact in the field of exports, which has already reported the worst results at the first half of the year - excluding petroleum products.

However, opportunities of speculation on the internal market by major refinery companies are impossible, since price increases of crude oil on international markets do not imply an increase in the price of all petroleum products, which have a different movement on the stock exchange (i.e., the price of crude oil is one thing, and the price of petroleum products is something quite different).

Of course, if someone has bought petroleum products at low prices and holds large stocks, their prices will increase significantly, but it is not possible to predict what will happen in the future. Anyway, everyone already knows that the possibilities for processing crude oil in the region are frustratingly few.

In any case, the fear of a general conflict seems to be an increasing concern for companies in the industry today. In this sense, at this time, oil prices, which are naturally influenced by the relationship between supply and demand, are formed by the increased geopolitical risk.

Transport

A possible military intervention in Syria implies incalculable, for the moment, consequences for the transport sector in Greece. Oil prices have increased by more than 2 dollars per barrel, and the price of Brent Crude has exceeded 117 dollars, while American crude oil has reached its highest level in two years, leading to disturbances in costs of transport companies.

Thus, the study of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) on the effect of higher fuel prices on transport is even more important, according to which each percentage increase in fuel prices leads to an increase of 0.2% to 0.34% of transport costs.

The International Road Transport Union states that the increase in fuel prices increases transportation costs and is subsequently borne by consumers. Furthermore, in anticipation of a military intervention in Syria, measures for overcoming the most urgent problems in the field of air transport are being taken.

Cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean - the first which are likely to suffer

International cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean will be among the first victims of a possible military intervention by the Western powers in Syria, according to the tourism industry in Greece.

The events in Syria are worrying the Greek tourism industry, although there has been nothing concrete so far which can be associated with any adverse effects because of the developments in recent days at the international diplomatic level. The tourism industry, however, believes that in the case of a prolonged conflict in Syria, it will have a negative impact on tourism in all countries of the region.

In particular with regard to Greece, bearing in mind that the summer season is about to end, the damage will be less. Experts in the industry say that the biggest losses will probably affect cruises which have already been suffering "blows" because of the events in Egypt. They have forced many companies to change the course of their cruise ships and head to Greek ports, which in turn has been beneficial for the Greek economy.

In an interview for Naftemporiki, President of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises Andreas Andreadis reiterated his recent statement regarding the events in Egypt. In it, he urged everybody to stay reserved with regard to the development of Greek tourism because, as he emphasised: "a possible destabilisation or "a blaze" in the region hides more dangers than benefits for our tourism."

"It is a fact," added Andreadis "that a prolonged conflict in Syria will adversely affect the flow of tourists in the region." He believes that cruise travel will suffer the worst "blows". At the same time, he assumes that the flow of American tourists will also decline, who, on the one hand, are more sensitive regarding security issues, and on the other hand perceive the whole Eastern Mediterranean as a common area.

Regarding the Greek tourist industry, everything will depend on the duration of the operations. If they are short, at least as it seems by the plans of Western military forces, then the negative effects on Greek tourism will be much less, since the season is coming to an end, and there will be no consequences for the 2014 season, according to Andreas Andreadis.

On the issue of cruises, Vice-President of the Association of owners of cruise ships Michalis Lambros explained that in the event of a conflict in Syria, mainly international cruises will be affected, as well as ports that are adjacent to the region. Regarding the Greek islands and the port of Kusadasi in Turkey, Lambros believes that there will be no problems.