SINGAPORE: Brent oil extended losses into a fourth session on Tuesday, with prices hovering close to a more than five-year low above $57 per barrel, as persistent worries about a global supply glut offset concerns about output disruptions in Libyan.

However, forecasts for a 900,000-barrel drawdown last week in oil stocks in top consumer the United States, following a rise to highest recorded December level in the week ended on Dec. 19, checked losses in crude prices.

Brent for February delivery fell 8 cents to $57.80 as of 0323 GMT, after tumbling to $57.37 in the previous session, the lowest level since May 2009. US crude for February delivery fell 3 cents to $53.58 after it settled down $1.12 on Monday, when it hit an intraday low of $52.90 - also the lowest since May 2009.

“There’s no sign of any reduction of output by Opec,” said Ken Hasegawa, commodity sales manager at Tokyo’s Newedge Japan.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2014