Oil Prices Continue Slide

Oil prices continue their downward slide hitting the lowest level since May this year with light, sweet crude dips hitting as low as $112.72.

The oil traders are watching the fighting between Russia and Gerogia which has the potential to disrupt supply. As a result, the price of light sweet crude fell 75 cents and closed at $114.45 US a barrel in New York after dipping as low as $112.72, its lowest level since early May. The U.S. dollar edged higher against the euro and pound. The strengthening U.S. currency, along with, signs that demand growth is moderating in key energy-consuming countries around the world, has sapped the momentum from this year's surge in energy prices. "The market's still kind of reeling," said Darin Newsom, senior analyst at DTN in Omaha, Neb. He said the recent drop in crude attracted a bit of buying Monday, particularly as many traders focused on the Russia-Georgia conflict. But, he said, more signs of economic slowdown could take prices back below $100 a barrel — a level not seen since early April. Oil fell almost $10 a barrel last week, and light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $1.70 to $113.50 a barrel in early afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price at the pumps in the U.SD. slipped down to $3.81 a gallon ($1.07 Cdn a litre), on average, on Monday from $3.818 a day earlier, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. In Canada, the average price for a litre of regular remained around $1.31 Cdn, little changed from the day before, according to price monitoring Web site.