21/08/2010
Oil falls to six-week low on economic worries
Oil fell below $74 a barrel on Friday after this week's feeble U.S. economic data raised doubts about the top oil-consuming nation's ability to use up its highest petroleum inventories in two decades.
U.S. crude for Septemberfell 97 cents to $73.46 a barrel by 1310 GMT on contract expiry day. It traded as low as $73.24 intraday, the lowest since July 7.
The more actively traded October contract dipped 69 cents to $74.08 a barrel, while the Brent contract for the same period was down 68 cents at $74.62.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed U.S. oil stocks rose to 1.130 billion barrels in the previous week -- the highest level in at least 20 years.
Since then, the already frail U.S. economic recovery received fresh setbacks after jobless claims rose to a nine-month high last week and mid-Atlantic manufacturing shrank in August, alerting the market to the dangers of a stubborn supply overhang.
The National Hurricane Center said there was only a 10 percent chance that a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea would strengthen into a depression in the next 48 hours.
