Oil prices extend losses

[NEW YORK] Crude oil prices dipped on Tuesday, extending the prior day's steep falls, as traders considered an IEA prediction that the global oversupply will continue next year.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November fell 44 cents to US$46.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November, the global benchmark, finished at US$49.24 a barrel in London, down 62 cents from Monday's settlement.

Both futures contracts had plummeted more than five percent Monday, partly on worries about excessive supply and profit taking after Friday's powerful rally.

"It's a continuation of what I thought was a bearish technical day yesterday," said Kyle Cooper of IAF Advisors.

The monthly International Energy Agency report released Tuesday projected that world demand growth would slow from 1.8 million barrels per day in 2015 to 1.2 million bpd in 2016, for a total demand of 95.7 million bpd.

The growth estimate, lower than the previous month, underscored "the risk of an ongoing physical surplus at least through the end of 2016," said Tim Evans of Citi Futures.

The oil market also was weighing the latest trade data from China. Imports plunged by 20.4 per cent in September as growth in the world's second-largest economy slows.

But Chinese crude oil import volumes were still 8.8 per cent higher over the first nine months of the year than a year ago.

"Crude oil import growth YTD is running at almost 10 per cent with the extra growth largely a reflection of commercial and strategic stockpiling as more storage facilities come online and also China's shift to a net exporter of refined products," Barclays analysts said in a research note.

AFP