Oil prices retreat after jump amid weak demand

PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil prices retreated Wednesday, Nov 7, after a big jump the day before, weighed down by the outlook for ample supplies and weak demand, according to The Associated Press.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 37 cents to $88.34 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $3.06, or 3.5 percent, to finish at $88.71 in New York.

U.S. benchmark crude oil prices are expected to be almost 5 percent lower in 2013 than previously forecast amid a sluggish economy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report. U.S. daily oil production is projected to rise 8.2 percent from 2012 and the highest since 1993, the EIA said.

Ample supplies and reduced demand combined to put pressure on oil prices.

"Having been arguably too expensive, it has adjusted down to a more neutral price," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst, CMC Markets in Sydney.

Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 56 cents to $110.51 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.