Oil down on knife-edge US vote

[SINGAPORE] Oil prices were down in Asian trade on Wednesday as early US presidential election results indicate a knife-edge outcome, with market favourite Hillary Clinton struggling in key battleground states.

Analysts warned it is still too early to predict a winner, despite a strong showing by Donald Trump, with several states still too close to call including all-important Florida and Pennsylvania.

At around 0230 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in December was down US$1.67 to US$43.31 and Brent crude for January tumbled US$1.46 to US$44.58.

Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, said the election results were set to drive trade all day, as the world waited anxiously for results.

"Trading is expected to be very choppy throughout the day because markets seem to be moving back and forth according to the ebbs and flows of the voting results that are coming in," Mr Halley told AFP.

AFP