Oil prices lower in Asian trade

Oil prices slid in Asian trade today as fresh turmoil rocked the global financial sector, analysts said.  New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, fell 35 cents to $9.80 a barrel.  

Brent North Sea crude for April shed 60 cents to $1.61 per barrel.  

The downward revision in US GDP data and high jobless claims data "are at the core of the economic woes and the ultimate drag on energy prices," said Phil Flynn, vice president of Alaron Trading Corporation.  

The US government announced last Friday that gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at a worse-than-expected 6.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, raising renewed fears about energy demand in the world's biggest economy.  

Sentiment was also spooked by the US government's latest massive bailout package for insurance giant AIG worth $30 billion.  The bailout came as the insurer posted a $61.7 billion quarterly loss, the biggest in US corporate history.  

"The financial situation, weak manufacturing, weak employment -- recession pressures the oil prices, and that's the major concern," said James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economy.