Filtered By: Money
Money

Oil extends fall as Saudi oil minister hints at raising supply


BANGKOK — Oil prices hung below $88 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, extending losses after the Saudi oil minister hinted the world's biggest oil producer may raise supplies to put the brakes on higher oil prices. Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 33 cents at $87.54 a barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.24 to settle at $87.87 a barrel on Monday The price of oil has fallen more than 3 percent since Thursday, when it was close to $92 a barrel. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Monday he expected world oil demand will increase this year to between 1.5 million and 1.8 million barrels per day. That's higher than forecasts from the Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency. Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, said al-Naimi's comments imply that he thinks oil prices are too high, and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would take steps to bring them down. "I think that's the first serious comment along those lines from anybody in OPEC," Lynch said. "He seems to be saying maybe the market needs more oil." In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.4 cent at $2.616 a gallon and gasoline shed 0.6 cent to $2.408 a gallon. Natural gas rose 0.8 cent to $4.588 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude was down 31 cents at $96.30 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange. — AP

LOADING CONTENT