Oil prices slip in Asia

December 03, 2010 | 11:52

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Oil prices slid in Asia on Friday after hitting their highest levels in three weeks the day before as worries over an extended employment drought in the US persisted, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January, fell 19 cents to $87.81 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January slipped 22 cents to $90.47.

Oil prices "dipped a little this morning but this is after very strong gains yesterday", said Chen Xin Yi, commodities analyst with Barclays Capital in Singapore.

Crude on Thursday rose to its highest level in three weeks supported by strong performances in US retail and pending home sales, with Brent crude breaking past $90 after gaining more than two per cent.

But Chen said pessimism over the US employment situation was dampening the markets ahead of the release of a jobs report in the world's largest oil consumer later Friday.

"Broader macroeconomic data has an influence and most recent US data has been mixed, with initial jobless claims worse than expected," she added.

Experts predict November's report will show a jobless rate stuck at 9.6 per cent for the fourth consecutive month, as millions of Americans struggled to get back to work.

While that high rate of unemployment is a constant worry for the eight-plus million Americans who lost their jobs during the crisis, policymakers are increasingly concerned about how long the trend has persisted.

AFP

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