Oil Slips on US Recovery Fears

LONDON : World oil prices weakened on Monday as recent weak economic data sparked fears about a recovery in the United States, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, eased 29 cents to 69.66 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for November delivery dropped 35 cents to 67.72 dollars a barrel.

“A slew of economic data (last week) rekindled worries over the prospects of a recovery in the United States,” said JBC Energy analysts in a note to clients.

Data released Friday showed the US economy was struggling to recover from recession as job losses accelerated to 263,000, sending the unemployment rate to a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.

Payroll losses were far worse than expectations for a loss of 175,000 jobs, while there was an upwardly revised loss of 201,000 in August.

Payrolls have dropped for 21 consecutive months and since the start of the recession, the number of jobless has increased 7.6 million to 15.1 million, while unemployment has doubled to 9.8 percent, Labor Department figures show.

“There are ongoing worries about the pace of economic recovery after the disappointing US jobs data,” added Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.

“At the top of traders’ minds now is the pace of economic recovery and the US economic situation still looks shaky,” he said.