Oil prices dip, stay above $77

LONDON: Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday amid lingering concerns about weak energy demand, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, eased 19 cents to $77.37 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery dipped seven cents to $77.39.

"We still expect resurfacing demand concerns to cap the upside in oil," said VTB Capital commodities analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

Oil prices slumped from record highs of above $147 reached in July 2008 to about $32 in December last year, as the economic downturn hit world demand for energy.

Crude futures have slowly won back ground as major industrialised nations emerge from recession but oil demand remains weak despite reportedly rising for the first time in seven quarters.

World oil demand rose between July and September after falling during the previous six quarters, the Centre for Global Energy Studies said in a monthly report published on Monday.

The London-based CGES added that global oil demand was set to record its first year-on-year gain during the fourth quarter, although crude oil prices should continue to trade between $70-$80 a barrel.