AFP, Singapore :
Oil prices fell further to multi-month lows in Asian trade Wednesday on demand concerns after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its the global economic growth forecasts, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was down $1.11 to $87.74 a barrel in afternoon trade and Brent crude eased $1.12 to $90.99. Both contracts tumbled Tuesday.
Singapore’s United Overseas Bank said in a note that prices were being “pressured by reduced economic and demand growth forecasts”.
The IMF on Tuesday said the global economy would grow 3.3 percent this year, down 0.1 percentage points from July’s estimate and 0.4 points off its April forecast.
The Washington-based lender also trimmed its 2015 outlook to 3.8 percent growth from July’s 4.0 percent as it warned of stagnation in advanced economies.
“Growth this year has indeed disappointed, especially in the US, EU and Japan,” Singapore’s DBS Bank said.
In the United States, the world’s biggest oil consuming nation, “nothing is falling off the cliff”, but while recovery continues “growth there is not accelerating like so many seem to believe”.
