Crude prices lower on economy worries

The price of crude oil was lower Friday on concerns that the economy will not recover as quickly has had been hoped and as the dollar strengthened and equities markets fell in the US and most of Europe.

At about an hour before the close of floor trade for the week, December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude had dropped 91 cents to $80.28 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery was down 60 cents to $78.91 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

News that put economic recovery in question included new data showing that the UK’s gross domestic product dropped by 0.4 percent in the third quarter, disappointing quarterly reports from some companies and more new unemployment claim filings than expected in the US last week.

Elsewhere, Abdullah al-Badri, the secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said that the cartel could decide at a December meeting to raise production quotas after earlier saying that $80 per barrel is too high a price for oil.

Such a move would depend, al-Badri said, on smaller inventories and growth for the global economy.

On Wednesday, the US Energy Information Administration reported that US crude oil stockpiles grew by 1.3 million barrels, substantially less of a gain than had been anticipated, while gasoline inventories dropped by 2.3 million barrels and distillates in storage shrank by 800,000 barrels.