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Oil prices drop on concerns

02 October 2009 07:43 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Oil fell, paring this weekâ€™s gain, on signs the U.S. economy is still in the midst of a recession, limiting fuel demand in the worldâ€™s biggest crude consumer, Bloomberg reported.
Oil snapped two days of increases after the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits climbed and a report showed manufacturing dropped lower than projected by economists. U.S. fuel demand, in terms of products supplied over the past four weeks, fell for a third week, the Energy Department said Sept. 30.
Crude oil for November delivery dropped as much as 72 cents, or 1 percent, to $70.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $70.22 at 12:07 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract rose 21 cents to settle at $70.82. Prices are set to rise 6.4 percent this week.
Prices also fell as the dollar rose to a three-week high against the euro. The U.S. currency climbed to as high as $1.4512 per euro, the strongest since Sept. 10, from $1.4545 in New York yesterday. A stronger dollar limits investorsâ€™ need for commodities and assets to hedge against inflation.
Brent crude oil for November settlement dropped as much as 69 cents, or 1 percent, to $68.50 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $68.70 a barrel at 11:57 a.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract rose 12 cents to settle at $69.19.