Oil prices slide after energy agency casts doubt over demand outlook
London — Oil prices slipped for the fourth day in a row on Wednesday on a gloomy outlook for oil demand growth from the International Energy Agency (IEA), and on worries that data expected later in the day would show US output rising, undermining Opec cuts. Brent crude futures were down 72 US cents at $61.49 per barrel at 10.20am GMT, having fallen 1.5% on Tuesday, its largest one-day drop in a month. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $55.12 per barrel, down 58c. The Brent price has now shed nearly 5% in value since hitting its highest since mid-2015 last week. Losses were compounded on Tuesday after an unexpectedly gloomy global demand outlook from the Paris-based IEA. "Yesterday’s drop had to do with the world energy outlook, which was to me a bit of a surprise," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro. On Tuesday, the IEA cut its oil demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels per day for both 2017 and 2018 to an estimated 1.5-million barrels per day an...
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