US oil prices fall to fresh six-year low

August 14, 2015 | 16:44

(0) user say

Oil prices skidded to a fresh six-year low on Thursday amid worries about excess supply.

Oil prices skidded to a fresh six-year low on Aug 13 amid worries about excess supply. (AFP Photo)

NEW YORK: Oil prices skidded to a fresh six-year low on Thursday (Aug 13) amid worries about excess supply.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery dropped US$1.07 to US$42.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest level since March 2009. European benchmark Brent oil for September delivery shed 44 cents at US$49.22 a barrel in London.

The oil market has had an up and down week, with worries about the Chinese economy rising after Beijing surprised markets by devaluing the yuan.

"The market continues to reel under very weak fundamentals," said Gene McGillian, broker and analyst at Tradition Energy. McGillian said there is a "potential for a further slide" in oil prices but strengthening US demand for petroleum products could help guard the market from further falls.

US gasoline supplies dropped by 1.3 million barrels in the week ending Aug 6, according to the Department of Energy.

"Obviously demand in the US is holding up fairly well and this is bullish," said James Williams, market analyst at WTRG. "But when you start looking at the rest of the world, and you put all the numbers together, we're oversupplied by two to three a day million barrels per day, and that's a hard number to support in any market."

AFP

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional