Oil prices drop after brief rally

LONDON: Oil prices resumed their downward march on Friday as crude demand dropped amid the global economic slowdown.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for March, slid 1.23 dollars to 42.44 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March fell 80 cents to 44.59 dollars a barrel on London's InterContinental Exchange.

Oil prices had ended slightly higher on Thursday after the United States -- the biggest crude consuming nation -- announced a sharp increase in its energy stockpiles, dealers said.

The US Department of Energy said crude inventories had soared by 6.1 million barrels last week, far more than analyst expectations for an increase of around two million barrels.