Reacting to the latest round of weaker economic news from the US and Europe, oil prices continued to drop, falling to $74.24 a barrel by mid morning London time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 99 cents to settle at $74.43 on Thursday.
Crude prices have retreated nearly eight per cent in the past two weeks as the U.S. economic newsflow has generally underperformed. At one point on Thursday, oil prices fell to a six-week low below $74 a barrel after figures showed an unexpected rise increase in weekly U.S. jobless claims to half a million, and a big drop in manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
Source: Associated Press