Oil prices fall as demand continues to decline

Crude oil prices fell Tuesday on another report that demand for gasoline is down and despite a statement from the secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that the cartel is willing to meet again to cut production quotas further if necessary.

December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were reported down 26 cents to $62.96 per barrel at the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude for December delivery dropped $1.15 to $60.26 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The declines came after a report from the Conference Board showed that US consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since records began over 40 years ago.

The report on declining gasoline demand came from credit card issuer Master Card and is based on credit card use at gas stations and showed that demand dropped by 1 percent in the week ending 24 October from the previous week and was 6.4 percent lower than the same week in 2007.

Demand continues to fall despite declining retail gasoline prices at the pump in the US, which dropped to an average $2.629 per gallon overnight for unleaded regular.