Oil prices slip amid US economy speculation

31 March 2008

Oil prices dipped over the weekend, falling to below $105 (€66.42).

In news which may affect home heating oil users, values of the commodity reached $104.34 - a fall of $1.28, Bloomberg reports.

According to the news source, the economic slowdown in the US is the main reason for the price slide.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group stated: "The combined impact of a weakening economy and high oil price inflation are putting pressure on total US oil demand."

They predicted that demand for oil in the country "will remain weak" for some months to come.

Oil prices rose to $108 a barrel last week, but hikes were dampened by an attack on a pipeline in Basra, Iraq.

Although David Johnson, an analyst at Macquarie Research, noted that it was thought the damage would have been worse.

He told the BBC: "The [Iraqi] problem is not as serious as we thought."

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