Oil falls to USD 48.57 per barrel

Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade on Wednesday after recent rallies,analysts said.

New York’s main futures contract,light sweet crude for February delivery,was down one cent to USD 48.57 a barrel,after falling 23 cents to 48.58 at the close of trading yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent North Sea crude for February delivery was up seven cents at USD 50.60 a barrel after closing 91 cents higher at 50.53 yesterday in London.

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Oil found support above USD 50 yesterday on supply worries due to deepening political frictions in Europe and the oil-rich Middle East,analysts said.

The New York contract hit an intra-day peak of 50.47 and Brent leapt to 52.21,a level not seen in more than a month.

Prices also rallied by more than USD two on Monday after Israel sent soldiers into the Gaza Strip.

“The markets are probably a little weary from the rallies,” said Mark Pervan,senior commodities analyst of ANZ bank in Melbourne.

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Along with the Israeli-Hamas conflict,prices have firmed because of a Russia-Ukraine gas row curtailing supplies to Europe. Gas shortages have spread across Europe,reaching France and Italy.

Oil prices soared in the first half of last year,reaching record highs above USD 147 a barrel in July,before the global downturn slashed world demand for energy and pulled prices lower.

Antoine Halff,an analyst at Newedge Group,said the latest economic statistics highlighted weak demand. US data showed a moderating decline in the huge services sector and a continued fall in industrial orders.