LONDON, Sept 12: World oil prices fell strongly on Monday on easing supply concerns, as Hurricane Ophelia was downgraded to a tropical storm and amid signs that growth of world demand for energy was slowing, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October fell by 83 cents to $63.25 per barrel in early deals.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for October delivery slumped $1.13 to $61.75 per barrel.

“Ophelia is no longer a major danger” to US oil facilities, Investec analyst Bruce Evers said.

Prices were falling also after the International Energy Agency said demand strains on the world oil market may be abating.

The IEA on Friday said that the total world supply situation in August was 2.0 million barrels a day above the figure 12 months earlier.

In addition, production by members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries had risen by 0.75m barrels per day on a 12-month comparison.

Prices are lower again, “as market participants focus more on the damage to demand rather than the damage to supply caused by Hurricane Katrina and high prices”, Fimat analyst John Kilduff said.

On August 30, a day after Katrina battered US oil facilities on the Gulf coast, New York’s main oil contract hit a record-high $70.85 per barrel, while in London Brent reached an all-time high $68.89 — leaving prices double the levels in 2003.

However, prices fell heavily between last Friday and Wednesday as a number of oil facilities came back on line and after the US and its industrial partners agreed to tap emergency reserves.—AFP