US economy concerns slow oil prices

31 March 2008

Oil prices have slipped to $104.34 (£52.54) a barrel, in news which may affect those with home heating oil users.

Values fell $1.28 to dip below the $105 a barrel mark, reports Bloomberg.

The slowing economy in the US is thought to be the main contributor to oil prices, the news source stated.

Demand for oil in the US is likely to remain weak for some time to come, Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group predicted.

The combined impact of a weakening economy and high oil price inflation are putting pressure on total US oil demand," they said.

Last week, oil prices fell amid fears of an attack on an oil export line in war torn Basra, Iraq.

However, the damage was not as bad as first feared, David Johnson, an analyst at Macquarie Research, told the BBC.

"The [Iraqi] problem is not as serious as we thought," he remarked.

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