Oil Prices In Asia Fell Down
August 31, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Business News
SINGAPORE: Oil fell in Asian trade on Monday as investors awaited more data due out this week that they hope will show a recovery is underway in the US and other major economies, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery dropped 11 cents to 72.63 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery was 23 cents lower at 72.56 dollars.
“People are waiting for further information about supply and demand balance,” said Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist with the National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
Crude rose last week, fuelled by positive economic data that the global economy was pulling out of recession, which was seen as a boost to lifting oil demand.
In the United States, the world’s largest energy-consuming nation, official data showed spending rose for the third consecutive month, albeit largely due to federal aid.
In Europe, the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator for the 16-nation eurozone rose for the fifth month running in August.
For this week, investors will be eyeing a US manufacturing survey due out Tuesday followed by other data later in the week including labour and construction spending, said Singapore’s DBS bank.
Analysts from DBS expect the US labour report to show further job losses of about 230,000 in August but see the figure to improving in the months ahead as the world’s largest economy recovers from the recession.
“Consensus expects to see further job losses of about 230k in August,” the analysts said in a report.
“So rather than pointing to further risks ahead, labour markets are yet one more factor suggesting the recovery underway is for real.
“We expect to see job losses dwindle to zero by November-December and the unemployment rate to begin to fall in earnest about that time.”
Crude oil prices seesawed last week, hitting 75 dollars for the first time in 10 months Tuesday before falling sharply. On Thursday, prices briefly dipped below 70 dollars, then bounced back.
Oil Prices In Asia Fell Down was first posted on August 31, 2009 at 1:35 pm.
©2009 “Pakistan News“.
