Washington - Oil prices are headed for the biggest weekly loss since mid-July, boosting disappointing data in the United States and elsewhere, Bloomberg News reported Friday. Of the world fears of a global recession.
New York futures rose on Friday, although they fell 6 percent from last week.
Last month, a key measure of US service industry activity fell to a three-year low, while the employment rate recorded its lowest reading in more than five years. This followed the employment and manufacturing data released earlier this week, which came in below estimates.
Further downturn in the US economy and further signs of weakness in the Chinese and German economies reinforced the already weakening outlook. While record gains in oil prices have largely evaporated in the wake of the September 14 attack on Saudi oil facilities, thanks to Saudi Arabia´s rapid movement and restoration of production rates, the bleak economic climate has also played a role. Nigeria, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), warned on Thursday that demand for oil would be "very difficult" next year.
"It is clear that the background has recently declined," Bloomberg quoted Daniel Heinz, a commodities trading strategist at the Australian New Zealand banking group in Sydney, as saying. "There has not yet been any significant decline in oil demand.
WTI crude for November delivery rose 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $ 52.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning. In London, the price of crude fell for the eighth consecutive day on Thursday, and fell by 3.27 dollars this week, the largest decline since July 19 last. Brent crude for December delivery jumped 0.4 percent to $ 57.92 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in Europe. Contracts have fallen 6.4 percent this week.
