AFP, London :
Oil prices resumed their slide on Friday following a sharp rebound the day before as investors wait for more signs of economic growth in Europe, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in December dropped 71 cents to $81.38 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for December shed 80 cents to stand at $86.03 a barrel in London midday deals.
Both contracts rebounded sharply on Thursday, “supported by the announcement that Saudi Arabia supplied less crude oil to the market in September”, noted Dorian Lucas, an analyst at energy consultancy Inenco.
Prices were buoyed Thursday also by better-than-expected economic data from China and European powerhouse Germany.
While the German and eurozone PMI are encouraging, analysts said they would wait for data in the next few months to make firm conclusions on its growth path.
“So far, it seems quite good but we still need to look at the next few releases,” Daniel Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore, told AFP.
WTI has fallen two-year lows and Brent to its lowest levels in four years during October, pressured by a crude oversupply and weak demand from slowing world economies.
