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Oil falls on low demand forecast
Oil prices have shed earlier gains after the US government predicted that global oil consumption would decline both this year and next. US crude was down 84 cents at $42.87 a barrel on Tuesday and London Brent crude dropped $1.09 to $42.33. Oil prices rose slightly earlier Tuesday on expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would make a big cut in its output levels at a Dec.17 summit in Algeria. OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on Saturday that oil markets should be prepared for a 'surprise' output cut at the summit. The US Energy Information Administration said in a report on Tuesday that the world oil demand would fall by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2008 and 450,000 bpd in 2009. It is the first time since the early 1980s that global oil consumption would decline in two consecutive years. Oil prices have lost more than $100 since hitting a record high of above $147 a barrel as the global financial crisis has sharply slashed demand. Posted by: Fred 2008-12-10 |
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