Oil prices fell slightly today as the market watched over the stumbling US economy and its impact on crude demand while continuing to digest Venezuela's threat to cut US supplies.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, lost 39 cents to $93.20 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for March delivery slid 26 cents to $93.27.
Prices had soared yesterday on threats by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to cut oil sales to the US. Chavez on Sunday threatened to cut oil sales to the US should American oil giant ExxonMobil succeed in getting billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets as compensation for expropriated oil fields.
Analayts said that concerns over a US recession was the issue really dominating the market's focus. Fears that the US economy could be entering a recession, causing in turn a drop in energy demand, have spooked oil markets recently.
Crude prices had slumped by about 12% in just one month since the price of New York crude surged to an all-time high of $100.09 a barrel on January 3.
