oil futures fell 1.4 percent Monday to a fresh 2012 low below $95 a barrel as Saudi Arabia's oil minister said prices should decline further and amid mounting worries about the state of Greece's economy. New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in June closed at $94.78 a barrel, down $1.35 from Friday. Earlier the benchmark WTI contract hit $93.63, its lowest intraday level since December 19. In London, Brent North Sea crude for June dropped 69 cents to settle at $111.57 a barrel, after earlier sinking to an almost four-month low of $110.04. In the past two weeks, New York's WTI contract has lost about $10. Saudi Arabia wants crude prices lower than they are now, Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said Sunday in Adelaide, Australia. The Kingdom is pumping at its highest rate in almost three decades, OPEC data show. Saudi Arabia pumped 10.1 million barrels a day in April, about 200,000 barrels more than the previous month and the highest in more than three decades, a report by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries showed May 10, citing official data submitted by the Kingdom. “We want a lower price than where it is now,” Al-Naimi said. “We need to get the price to a level of around $100” a barrel for Brent, he said. Brent last traded below $100 briefly in October. Oil supply outweighs demand by 1.3 million to 1.5 million barrels a day, Al-Naimi said. WTI may decline to $90 a barrel, and Brent to $105, as European central banks struggle to resolve the debt turmoil, Bank of America Corp. said in a report Monday. “There is a total loss of confidence and the European situation is really weighing on the market,” said Phil Streible, a Chicago-based commodities broker at RJO Futures. “Saudi Arabia is definitely ramping up production and that could push down prices.” “Greece,” said Tom Bentz at BNP Paribas, explaining the reason behind the weakness on the market. “They failed to come away with an agreement for a coalition government and markets are just worried that Greece could quit the eurozone,” Bentz said. Greece has been in a political deadlock since May 6 elections when an anti-austerity backlash stripped the parliamentary majority of parties that backed the bailout program and its debt-cutting measures. Greek political parties again failed to form a government Monday that would implement the painful EU-IMF debt bailout. The heightened risks boosted the dollar, making dollar-priced oil more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies. The euro dived to $1.2830, its lowest point since January 18. Sputtering economic signals in the world's major economies have pressured crude prices as supplies continue to grow. In the US, the world's biggest oil consumer, crude oil stocks stand at 22-year highs, while Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is openly advocating lower prices and has opened the taps to 10 million barrels a day. Traders said oil prices are heading for a critical juncture around $92.50 a barrel. A break of that level could clear the way for a run toward $85 a barrel, a level not touched since last October. “We are in slide mode,” said Tom Bentz, director at BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage. “It's all about Europe right now,” he said, noting that economic news from China and the US also hasn't been supportive for prices. “A lot depends on how things shake out in Europe, but this market is on its heels, and where this stops isn't clear,” Bentz said. Money managers last week slashed their net long position in Nymex crude oil futures by 33 percent.
