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SINGAPORE: Oil prices sunk further in Asian trade on Thursday, falling below US$46 a barrel at multi-year lows in a market dominated by declining demand and dismal economic news, analysts said.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, fell 82 cents to US$45.97 a barrel, off a low of US$45.75.
The contract, which has been trading at its lowest levels in about four years, closed down 17 cents at US$46.79 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.
Brent North Sea crude for January delivery dropped 99 cents to US$44.45, near its morning low of US$44.35, after closing unchanged at US$45.44 Wednesday in London.
"This market is trying to find the bottom," said Ken Hasegawa, manager of the energy desk at Newedge Japan brokerage in Tokyo.
Hasegawa said there are no bullish factors in the market, which he sees reaching as low as US$40 a barrel.
Oil prices have plunged by about 70 per cent since striking record highs above US$147 in July, pulled down by a widening global economic slowdown that weighs on demand, analysts say.
The Eurozone, Japan and the United States are in recession, and weak US economic data on Wednesday added to concerns for demand.
The US private sector lost 250,000 jobs in November, the largest decline in six years, according to the ADP National Employment Report survey.
"The macroeconomic backdrop to the oil market continues to worsen," said Barclays Capital analyst Paul Horsnell.
"We are now projecting that global (crude oil) demand will decline in both 2008 and 2009," he added.
The market shrugged off a US Department of Energy (DoE) report showing crude inventories fell by 400,000 barrels in the week ending November 28, confounding market expectations for a 1.4 million barrel increase.
The DoE said petrol stockpiles dropped 1.6 million barrels, in contrast to estimates for a gain of 1.6 million barrels.
US distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, declined 1.7 million barrels, compared with market expectations for no change.
- AFP/yb
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