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Oil prices slid 1.2% on world markets

09 October 2008 12:26 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev - APA-Economics. Crude oil prices fell again after a US government report showed a big increase in crude stocks and a big drop in demand, providing evidence that economic weakness is eroding fuel consumption in the worldâ€™s biggest consumer of petroleum products.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $1.11 to settle at $88.95 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil at one point fell to $86.05 â€” the lowest price since Dec. 6, 2007.
In London, November Brent crude sank to a one-year low of $81 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, before ending the day down 30 cents at $84.36 a barrel.
Crude has now fallen about 40 percent since surging to an all-time record $147.27 a barrel on July 11.
U.S. crude inventories jumped by 8.1 million barrels last week while gasoline stocks surged 7.2 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly inventory report. Both increases far exceeded expectations. Analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts had expected a 1 million barrel drop in crude supplies and a 2 million barrel build in gasoline stocks.
Analysts are split over how an OPEC output cut would impact oil prices. Some believe it could put a floor under falling prices by tightening world supplies, while others believe a deteriorating global economy will keep demand and therefore prices low.
OPECâ€™s decision last month to cut production by 520,000 barrels failed to halt oilâ€™s slide. The 13-member body is next scheduled to meet Dec. 17 in Algeria.