LONDON, Oct 23: Oil prices extended losses on Tuesday amid worries that slower US economic growth could dampen global demand, dealers said.
New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, shed 67 cents to $85.35. The November contract had struck a historic high of $90.07 last Friday.
London’s Brent North Sea crude for December delivery dropped 45 cents to $82.82, after hitting a record $84.88 last Thursday.
Crude futures scaled dizzy heights last week owing to tight supplies and geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East region.
But prices have since fallen back as weak US economic data has stoked concerns about weakening oil demand in the United States, the biggest energy consumer in the world.
Prices have fallen on fresh “concerns over economic growth and, in turn, oil demand growth,” Goldman Sachs analysts said.
Additional downward momentum has come from Kurdish rebels offering Turkey a ceasefire on Monday.
Kuwait’s interim Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim had said on Monday that he expected lower oil prices as a result of an output boost by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). The increase is set to take effect on November 1.
