Oil prices drop below 74 dollars
Oil prices fell below 74 dollars a barrel on Monday as fears of recession raised concerns about an extended drop in energy demand.
By Agencies |
LONDON: Oil prices fell below 74 dollars a barrel on Monday as fears of recession raised concerns about an extended drop in energy demand, traders said.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery dropped 79 cents to 73.74 dollars a barrel, adding to a slide of 2.93 dollars recorded on Tuesday in London.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November, shed 80 cents to 77.83 dollars after slumping by 2.56 dollars on Tuesday.
At Wednesday's price level Brent crude was half its record high of 147.50 dollars reached in July, owing to lingering worries about falls in energy demand.
A top US central banker, Janet Yellen, said Tuesday that the United States "appears to be in a recession." There are also growing fears Japan and Europe are heading for a spell of economic stagnation or recession.
The German economy is heading for a slowdown, but the downturn will not be a long-lasting one, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday.
Markets were meanwhile awaiting the latest weekly snapshot of US energy inventories due Thursday, which is set to reveal the nature of current demand for oil in the world's biggest consumer of crude.
The Department of Energy's latest data on inventories has been delayed a day owing to a public holiday in the United States earlier this week.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery dropped 79 cents to 73.74 dollars a barrel, adding to a slide of 2.93 dollars recorded on Tuesday in London.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November, shed 80 cents to 77.83 dollars after slumping by 2.56 dollars on Tuesday.
At Wednesday's price level Brent crude was half its record high of 147.50 dollars reached in July, owing to lingering worries about falls in energy demand.
A top US central banker, Janet Yellen, said Tuesday that the United States "appears to be in a recession." There are also growing fears Japan and Europe are heading for a spell of economic stagnation or recession.
The German economy is heading for a slowdown, but the downturn will not be a long-lasting one, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday.
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Markets were meanwhile awaiting the latest weekly snapshot of US energy inventories due Thursday, which is set to reveal the nature of current demand for oil in the world's biggest consumer of crude.
The Department of Energy's latest data on inventories has been delayed a day owing to a public holiday in the United States earlier this week.
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