U.S. crude oil fell below $76 a barrel today, hitting its lowest level in almost a month as bulging fuel inventories in the United States highlighted the weakness of demand, according to Reuters. By 1436 GMT, U.S crude futures were down 97 cents at $75.97 a barrel, having fallen by more than $2 in the previous session. Earlier on Friday, prices touched $75.73 a barrel, the lowest level since mid-October. Brent crude futures fell 62 cents to $75.40. Crude"s losses on Friday extended a 3 percent drop seen in the previous session after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported crude and product stocks in the world"s largest energy consumer rose more than expected last week. Market analysts said the 1.8 million barrel rise in U.S. crude oil stocks and 2.5 million barrel rise in gasoline stocks highlighted the fact demand remains weak heading into the Northern Hemisphere winter, with the economic slowdown still curbing demand for fuel. "The weekly implied demand numbers coming from the U.S. are not all that encouraging and suggestive that the economic recovery may be very slow in the United States," Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York. Oil prices have more than doubled since crashing to lows near $30 a barrel at the peak of the economic crisis, but they are still nearly 47 percent below their high just above $147 a barrel struck in July 2008. Doubts about the rally continuing have been expressed by some of the biggest names in the oil industry. "Today the price of oil may be $70 or $80, tomorrow it may even be $90," Christophe de Margerie, CEO of French oil major Total, said after a panel discussion at Columbia University in New York on Thursday. "But I"ll tell you this. If you look at supply and demand, the price should be lower." Separately, Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson said winter heating demand alone was unlikely to significantly reduce the global fuel inventory glut.
