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Oil prices settle below $60

12 November 2008 08:26 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev - APA-Economics. Crude oil was little changed near a 20-month low in New York on speculation the International Energy Agency will cut its 2009 oil-demand forecast because of slowing economic growth, reports Bloomberg.
Crude oil for December delivery was at $59.39 a barrel, up 6 cents, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 2:29 p.m. Singapore time. The contract earlier declined as much as 78 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $58.55 a barrel.
Yesterday, oil lost $3.08, or 4.9 percent, to $59.33 a barrel, the lowest settlement since March 20, 2007, after earlier dropping as low as $58.32. Prices have tumbled 60 percent since from a record $147.27 reached on July 11.
Brent crude oil for December settlement was at $55.92, up 21 cents, on Londonâ€™s ICE Futures Europe exchange at 2:06 p.m. Singapore time. It earlier fell as much as 36 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $55.35 a barrel.
The contract yesterday dropped $3.37, or 5.7 percent, to close at $55.71 a barrel, the lowest settlement since Jan. 29, 2007.
The IEA already has cut its 2008 forecast about 1.3 million barrels a day in seven revisions this year. Last week it published a summary of its annual World Energy Outlook, slashing its 2030 projection by 9.4 percent to 106 million barrels a day.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cited falling demand for its Oct. 24 decision to reduce production by 1.5 million barrels a day. OPEC ministers will discuss the market situation when they meet next on Dec. 17 and may agree to another supply cut then, the groupâ€™s president, Chakib Khelil, said on Nov. 8 in Algiers.