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Oil loses sharpest monthly drop in October

01 November 2008 11:20 (UTC +04:00)

Oil rose almost 3 percent on Friday on a late short-covering rally after slumping demand pushed crude to the biggest monthly drop ever in October.
U.S. crude settled up $1.85, 2.8 percent, at $67.81 a barrel, but ended the month down more than 32 percent -- the steepest monthly decline to date -- as demand continues to slow in the United States and other big consumer nations.
London Brent crude settled up $1.61 at $65.32.
A stronger U.S. dollar, which makes dollar-denominated assets less attractive to buyers, sent oil down lower earlier in the day before a late afternoon rally.
Oil sharp downturn has spurred OPEC members to call for additional supply reductions after the cartel last week decided to cut output by 1.5 million barrels per day.
Further price support came amid signs OPEC members were reducing supplies in line with the agreement. Kuwait on Friday informed customers it was cutting crude supplies by 5 percent in November. Reuters