Oil prices ease on profit-taking in Asian trade

PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil prices eased on profit-taking in Asian trade Friday, June 14, while dealers grow cautious over a supply glut and waning global demand, analysts said, according to AFP.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July dropped 21 cents to $96.48 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for August delivery shed 33 cents to $104.62.

Both contracts closed higher Thursday following upbeat U.S. economic data.

"Oil has gone up quite a bit in the past couple of weeks, so it is due for some technical resistance," Kelly Teoh, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore, told.

Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said: "Underlying fundamentals look precarious, with oversupply variables and a waning demand."

The World Bank on Thursday slashed its 2013 growth forecast for China to 7.7 percent from a previous estimate of 8.4 percent, warning of a potential "sharp" slowdown triggered by a fall in investment.

It also shaved its global growth forecast to 2.2 percent from 2.4 percent, largely due to the eurozone's recession.

The market was also watching developments in Sudan following an oil pipeline blast.