Oil prices retreat from four-month highs as demand risks come into focus
London — Oil prices fell on Thursday, slipping back from four-month highs as investors focused on the risk that emerging market crises and trade disputes could dent demand. Benchmark Brent crude oil was down 70c a barrel at $79.04 by 8.30am GMT. US light crude fell $1.15 to a low of $69.22 a barrel. The International Energy Agency said on Thursday that although the oil market was tightening at the moment, and world oil demand would soon reach 100-million barrels a day, global economic risks were mounting. "Things are tightening up," the agency said in its monthly report. But, it said: "As we move into 2019, a possible risk to our forecast lies in some key emerging economies, partly due to currency depreciations versus the US dollar raising the cost of imported energy. "In addition, there is a risk to growth from an escalation of trade disputes." US companies in China are being hurt by tariffs in the growing trade war between Washington and Beijing, according to a survey, prompting U...
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