Oil futures decline 7% on economic concerns
14 Aug 2010
San Francisco: Crude oil futures for September delivery declined nearly 7 per cent as downbeat US economic data added to concerns about slowing global economic growth which would likely affect energy demand.
Crude oil for September delivery slid further by 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $75.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline closed at $1.94 a gallon, which is a fresh eleven-week low.
Natural gas for September delivery, however, regained some of the week's losses, adding 3 cents, or 0.7%, to $4.33 per million British thermal units.
Oil lost 6.7% on the week as global economic worries affected sentiment, negatively impacting the stock markets and energy trade. Oil prices are now 8.7% off their most recent high when they touched $82.55 on 3 August.
Prices have also been affected by plentiful stockpiles and increases in inventories of energy products such as gasoline and distillates.
In Vienna, on Friday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries revised its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2010 higher by 100,000 barrels a day to 1 million barrels a day.
