Oil prices slide to six-month lows under $98
Oil prices tumbled to six-month low points below 98 dollars a barrel on Thursday as the dollar rallied and demand for energy decreased around the world amid an economic slowdown, traders said.
Prices had risen earlier in the day as Hurricane Ike headed toward key energy facilities on the southern US coast and after Opec on Wednesday reduced output to curb falling prices, analysts said.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October dropped to 97.85 dollars a barrel on Thursday -- the lowest level since March 5. It later recovered to 98.22 dollars, a loss of 75 cents from Wednesday's close.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October, slid 93 cents to 101.65 dollars a barrel.
"Crude oil futures slipped further ... as the market focused on demand concerns and the strengthening dollar," said Sucden analyst Michael Davies.
A strong dollar makes goods, such as oil, priced in the US unit more expensive for foreign buyers, dampening demand. The euro on Thursday slid below 1.39 dollars for the first time in a year on heightened concerns about a weak European economy, dealers said.
Concerns about oil demand in a slowing global economy were meanwhile highlighted by the latest monthly report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which cut its estimate for global oil demand this year by 100,000 barrels per day and in 2009 by 140,000 bpd.
The IEA monthly report, published Wednesday, highlighted shrinking oil demand in North America, saying consumers mainly in the United States are cutting back energy use in response to high prices.
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