Oil prices fall more than a dollar after rally

[SINGAPORE] Oil prices fell in early trading on Monday as unions called a strike at US oil and chemical plants on the weekend, cutting some of the gains made late last week when prices roared more than 8 per cent on a sharp drop in US drilling.

Brent crude oil futures were trading at US$51.98 a barrel at 0020 GMT , down US$1.01, and US WTI futures were trading at US$47.22 a barrel, down US$1.02 per barrel.

The drops followed a jump back from six-year lows on Friday, as a record weekly decline in US oil drilling fuelled a frenzy of short-covering.

REUTERS