ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oil prices were down for the ninth straight trading day on Monday, falling to near $69 a barrel amid signs OPEC doesn't plan to cut crude output when it meets next week and persistent concerns about high inventories and weak demand.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for January delivery was down 64 cents at $69.23 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as $68.59. On Friday, the contract gave up 67 cents to settle at $69.87.
Kuwait's oil minister Sheik Ahmed al-Abdullah al-Sabah told state news agency KUNA on Sunday that the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries probably won't change its production levels at its next meeting in Angola on Dec. 22.
Oil prices have slid from $82 in October on investor concern crude demand in the U.S. isn't rebounding despite an overall economic recovery.
"In reality, the economy has really just stopped digging a hole. But it's still in the hole," said analysts at KBC Market Services in Britain. "There will be very little support for ... demand from the U.S. any time soon. You can try to talk up a market all you like, but you can't beat really dreadful demand numbers."
A strengthening dollar is also helping to push crude prices down. Investors often buy crude as a hedge against inflation if the dollar weakens, and sell when the dollar is stronger.
The euro was up slightly to $1.4636 on Monday from $1.4624 on Friday while the British pound was up to $1.6243 from $1.6241. Still, the euro is well below its recent highs above $1.50.
"A further weakening in the euro to the $1.44 to $1.45 area is likely and such a development could contribute to some further slippage of at least $1 to $2 per barrel," Galena Illinois-based Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report.
In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 0.15 cent to $1.91 while gasoline fell 0.61 cent to $1.8355. Natural gas jumped 18.3 cents to $5.346 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for January delivery gained 10 cents to $71.98 on the ICE Futures exchange.
