Oil prices down in Asia ahead of US data

I / Singapore October 26, 2012, 17:02 IST

Oil prices turned lower in Asia Friday, in tandem with regional equities as traders cashed out ahead of the release of US growth figures later in the day, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December sank 94 cents to $85.11 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for December dived $1.07 to $107.42.

"People are cutting positions ahead of the US (growth data) in case it comes in worse" than expected, Jason Hughes, head of premium client management for IG Markets Singapore, told AFP.

"People just feel a little more nervous... And are taking a little bit of risk off the table."

Trader fear the figures will not meet expectations of 1.6% growth for the third quarter following weak corporate reports from major US firms including Google, IBM and McDonald's over the past few days.

But data released yesterday provided some cheer. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 23,000 to 369,000 in the week ending October 20. That was better than the average estimate of 375,000.

And durable goods orders also rose 9.9% from August, well above the average forecast of 8.0%.