Oil prices fall on OPEC demand forecast cut

Crude oil prices fell again Thursday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said demand for its supplies will fall 4.2 percent to 29.5 million barrels per day in 2009.

Also hurting prices was a Labor Department report showing that first-time jobless claims were up to 524,000 last week, more than had been expected, although part of the increase was blamed on delayed requests from individuals who had put off filing during the holiday season.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.96 to $35.32 per barrel at the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange after going as low as $33.20 per barrel earlier in the session.

February contracts for Brent crude, which expired at the end of the trading day, were down $1.09 to $43.99 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London, while the more active March contract dropped $2.08 to $45.54 per barrel in London.

Nymex February gasoline futures were down 6 cents to $1.11 per gallon in afternoon trade while March heating oil added 2 cents to $1.48 per gallon and March natural gas dropped 13 cents to $4.84 per million British thermal units.