Business

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Oil prices fall below $91 as US spending cuts loom, China manufacturing slows

By: The Associated Press

Posted: 03/1/2013 10:45 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 03/1/2013 11:30 AM

In this Aug. 21, 2007 photo, the sun sets behind an oil refinery on Rosedale Highway, in Bakersfield, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, The Bakersfield Californian, Casey Christie

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The price of oil fell to its lowest level of the year on Friday amid worrisome economic developments in the world's two largest oil-consuming countries.

The prospect of U.S. government spending cuts raised concerns about oil demand in the world's leading economy, while China's manufacturing grew at its weakest rate in five months in February.

By late morning in New York, benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down $1.19 to US$90.86 a barrel. Earlier, it hit a low for 2013 of $90.44.

While there have been signs of an improving U.S. economy in recent weeks, attention Friday was focused on the increasing likelihood that about $85 billion in spending cuts could start taking effect later in the day as part of an earlier budget agreement between the White House and Congress.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the spending cuts could reduce U.S. growth by some 0.5 percentage points in 2013.

In China two surveys showed that manufacturing growth slowed last month as demand faltered and factories shut down for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, was down 71 cents at US$110.67 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange In London. That's close to Brent's low for the year.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex, wholesale gasoline fell one cent to US$3.10 a U.S. gallon (3.79 litres), heating oil lost two cents to US$2.93 a gallon and natural gas rose two cents to $3.50 per 1,000 cubic feet.

(TSX:ECA), (TSX:IMO), (TSX:SU), (TSX:HSE), (NYSE:BP), (NYSE:COP), (NYSE:XOM), (NYSE:CVX), (TSX:CNQ), (TSX:TLM), (TSX:COS.UN), (TSX:CVE)

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Business

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.