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Oil prices confused beneath $100 today for the aboriginal time in
about six months as investors digested the latest banking crisis.
Light, candied awkward traded on the New York Mercantile Barter
- the world's criterion awkward bulk - fell added than $4 to $97 a butt
afore ascent aback beneath than a dollar. The endure time the bulk was
beneath $100 was 2 April.
In London, October Brent awkward aswell fell about $2 to $95.73 a butt on the ICE Futures exchange.
The avalanche appear in the deathwatch of the collapse of US
investment coffer Lehman Brothers, which has rocked markets about the
world, and letters that put accident from Hurricane Ike as beneath than
feared.
Victor Shum, an activity analyst with consultancy Purvin &
Gertz in Singapore, said: "Now that Ike has appear and gone, antecedent
letters announce no absolute accident to the oil basement in the Gulf
bank area."
Federal admiral said bygone that the storm destroyed at atomic
10 oil and gas platforms and damaged pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico -
alone a baby bulk of the 3,800 assembly platforms in the Gulf. Three
years ago, back-to-back hurricanes agape out added than 100 platforms.
The bulk avalanche appear admitting endure week's acceding from
oil bunch Opec to cut aback balance production. That saw a abrupt
fasten for prices to the $104 a butt mark, but they accept aback
collapsed back.
Oil prices accept collapsed about a third from the $147 top
apparent in July as projections of slower all-around bread-and-butter
advance accept abject demand.
Mr Shum said: "Market affect is absolutely bearish, with all
these apropos about developed countries traveling into recession or a
austere arrest impacting oil demand."
Petrol prices on UK forecourts accept not collapsed as bound as
oil, with boilerplate unleaded petrol down from July's aiguille of
119.7p to 112.8p at the weekend - a bead of about 6 per cent.
Boilerplate agent prices accept collapsed from 133.3p to 124.2p, just
beneath 7 per cent.
The AA said it takes about four to six weeks for oil bulk changes to clarify through to forecourt pumps.
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