Oil prices slip after US raises fears over economy

Oil prices fell to near $76 a barrel in Asia today as regional stock markets tumbled amid concerns over the pace of the global economic recovery.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was down 25 cents to $76.26 a barrel at midday Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 16 cents to settle at $76.51 yesterday.

Oil was lower after poor data yesterday from the US renewed concerns over a slower-than-expected global economic recovery that may hurt crude demand, according to Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.

"Oil is trading sideways and may continue to do so next week amid the economic uncertainties," he said.

The US failed to show a rise in its employment figures last week, goods orders were down last month and the Federal Reserve has issued a cautious statement about the health of the country's economy.

Crude oil supplies increased by two million barrels last week, while analysts were expecting stockpiles to drop. Traders got more discouraging news when the government said new home sales dropped by a third to a record low last month.

In other Nymex trading in July contracts, heating oil rose 0.14 cents to $2.0586 a gallon, gasoline fell 0.7 cents to $2.0865 a gallon and natural gas was up 1.8 cents at $4.766 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Brent crude was down 16 cents at $76.31 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.