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Oil prices sink below $70 a barrel

17 October 2008 09:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev - APA-Economics. Oil fell more than 6% to below US$70 a barrel on Thursday, touching a 15-month low on rising U.S. inventories and concerns a possible recession would slow demand further.
U.S. crude settled at US$69.85, down US$4.69, after sliding to as low as US$68.57, the lowest level since June 27, 2007.
In London, front month November Brent crude, which expires on Thursday, settled at US$66.32, down US$4.48.
Thursdayâ€™s declines accelerated after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude stocks rose by 5.6 million barrels last week, well above the 3.1 million barrel increase expected by analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts.
U.S. crude has fallen from record highs above US$147 hit in July, and has dropped nearly a third in value in three weeks, the steepest such decline since it began trading in 1983 amid the mounting threat of a global recession.
Data from the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production posted the biggest monthly decline since 1974.