Oil price falls continue

13 January 2010

Written by Neil Brunskill

Oil prices have slipped below $80 per barrel on the news that the cold weather affectging the US is likely to draw to a close.

Action has also been taken by China to tighten its monetary policy, which helped to put pressure on oil markets, forcing prices downward.

Analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov at VTB Capital in London told Bloomberg that the cold weather pushed oil prices higher, but that now this spell is coming to an end, the commodity is easing up.

"While the economic outlook is still positive, the overhang in supplies shows prices ran ahead of themselves," he added.

At 05:28 Eastern Time, crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell below $80 to reach $79.93. Spot prices for Dated Brent were lower still, below $78 per barrel.

Heating oil prices followed the downward trend set by crude - futures on the same key exchange stood at 210.32 cents per gallon this morning, down by some 2.86 cents.

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