Demand worries send crude oil prices lower

The price of crude oil fell slightly on Thursday as concerns continued that the US economy is teetering on the brink of recession, hurting demand.

Also possibly hurting demand is growing joblessness in the US, where new unemployment claims were up by 69,000 to 375,000 last week, much more of a gain than had been anticipated.

Gasoline demand in the United States was reported to be at its lowest in two years last week.

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate Crude was 58 cents lower to $91.75 per barrel just before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery dropped 46 cents to $92.07 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex March gasoline was down 5 cents to $2.33 per gallon and March heating oil fell 1 cent to $2.53 per gallon but March natural gas added 3 cents to $8.07 per million British thermal units

Statements from various members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ahead of tomorrow’s meeting in Vienna suggest that OPEC will hold production quotas steady this month.

The cartel’s president said that neither raising nor cutting quotas would help the global economy, but some members are speculating that quotas could be cut in March if oil prices keep dropping as the group continues to say that current prices are the fault of speculators, and not due to any supply deficiencies.