The Star 19th Jan 2009:
Oil prices fell to near $36 a barrel Monday in Asia as investors eyed a slew of U.S. corporate earnings this week for signs of weakening consumer demand amid the worst recession in decades.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery was down 44 cents at $36.07 a barrel by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract, which expires on Tuesday, rose $1.11 on Friday to settle at $36.51. The March contract was trading at $42.40 a barrel.
Investors expect to glean more insight into the extent of the current downturn when hundreds of companies report fourth quarter results this week, including heavyweights Google Inc., US Bancorp, General Electric Co., Microsoft Corp. and Johnson & Johnson.
Investors are bracing for bad numbers after banking giant Citigroup on Friday said it lost $8.29 billion in the fourth quarter and that it was splitting in two to help restore profits.
Concern that a recession in developed countries may be worse than previously expected - and that it's eating away at demand for oil - has sent crude prices down about 30 percent from $50.47 a barrel earlier this month and down about 75 percent from $147.27 in July.
Oil prices fell to near $36 a barrel Monday in Asia as investors eyed a slew of U.S. corporate earnings this week for signs of weakening consumer demand amid the worst recession in decades.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery was down 44 cents at $36.07 a barrel by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract, which expires on Tuesday, rose $1.11 on Friday to settle at $36.51. The March contract was trading at $42.40 a barrel.
Investors expect to glean more insight into the extent of the current downturn when hundreds of companies report fourth quarter results this week, including heavyweights Google Inc., US Bancorp, General Electric Co., Microsoft Corp. and Johnson & Johnson.
Investors are bracing for bad numbers after banking giant Citigroup on Friday said it lost $8.29 billion in the fourth quarter and that it was splitting in two to help restore profits.
Concern that a recession in developed countries may be worse than previously expected - and that it's eating away at demand for oil - has sent crude prices down about 30 percent from $50.47 a barrel earlier this month and down about 75 percent from $147.27 in July.
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