LONDON, June 2: Oil prices weakened on Monday, extending last week’s steep falls owing to concerns about lower global energy demand, traders said.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, lost 60 cents to $126.75 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for July fell 64 cents to $127.14.

“Oil futures were lower, still under pressure from last week’s heavy losses,” said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

Prices have shed about $8 since striking record peaks of $135.14 in London and $135.09 in New York on May 22.

“Last week, crude futures suffered from a fresh wave of profit taking,” Kryuchenkov said.

“The sell off was also (driven) by concerns that demand for energy is weakening due to record oil prices, with a wave of fuel strikes across the globe highlighting these fears.”

New York crude plunged five dollars last week, while London Brent shed about $4, falling in line with a recovering US currency that makes oil more expensive for foreign buyers and therefore dampens demand.—AFP