Oil prices fell briefly below $27 a barrel here Thurdsay, slumping for the fifth consecutive day amid more speculative selling, dealers said. Brent North Sea crude for April delivery fell as low as $26.90 a barrel from $27.28 overnight, before recovering somewhat to $27.04 by early afternoon. In New York, a barrel of light sweet crude for March fell 65 cents to $29.71.
The market has see-sawed this week, but the overall effect has been a decline in prices due to fears of weaker demand this year and swelling stock levels.
"It is really a follow-through from last night's activity when the market was sold down quite aggressively towards the close," said Paul Goodhew, a dealer with the GNI brokerage.
"There was a certain amount of profit taking. Some (investment) funds were seen to be operating in the market and they were sellers late last evening (Wednesday)," he added.
The basket price of seven world crudes compiled by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stood at $25.74 on Wednesday, against $25.71 the previous day, the Vienna-based OPECNA agency said Thursday.—AFP.
©--Agence France Presse 2001.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
