Oil prices flat around $80 in early Monday trading

Oil prices fell for the third day to below $80 a barrel in early trading on Monday, as investors continued to take profit from last week’s one-year high on renewed concerns about the strength of the global economy.

Weak US industrial sector earnings last week pushed down stock markets and underscored concerns about the pace of the US economic recovery and its impact on energy demand.

US crude oil futures for December delivery fell 78 cents to $79.72 by 0425 GMT, after having earlier fallen as low as $79.57. London Brent crude fell 71 cents to $78.21 on the ICE futures exchange.

“Asian speculators are cutting their positions after the fall on Wall Street last week. But a rebound in the Dow Jones futures this morning has helped limit the drop in oil prices,” said Ryuichi Sato, an analyst at Mizuho Corporate Bank.

“The market is cautious about pushing oil prices higher because the demand fundamentals are still weak and the world economy is still fragile.” Comments from producer group OPEC last week that it would raise output targets at a December meeting has also cast a pall on the oil market, analysts said.

Tags:  oil prices, trading