Oil prices dropped to the lowest point for more than a month today, mirroring losses across all major commodities.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, fell 13 cents to $68.40 a barrel in pit trading. In electronic deals before the official opening of the US market, the contract hit as low as $67.42, a level last reached on April 7. That also represented a drop of 10.5% since the contract achieved a record high of $75.35 on April 21.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery slid by 27 cents to $68.25 a barrel in electronic deals.
Analysts said that the current weakness in commodities has been triggered by inflation concerns, but they added that the market was well overdue a correction anyway after such strong gains.
Metals prices, notably gold and copper, have tumbled over the past week on profit-taking, with investors concerned that higher inflation will cool demand for commodities.
However, renewed support for oil could come from Iran, analysts said. The market is concerned that Iran, the world's fourth largest producer of oil, will cut its crude exports if faced with UN sanctions over its nuclear programme.
