Oil down in Asian trade

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]






SINGAPORE: World oil prices were lower in Asian trade Tuesday as investors locked in profits from a recent surge, but protests in the Arab world remained a concern, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, known as the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was down 23 cents to $108.24 per barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for May delivery fell seven cents to $120.99.

"Oil prices pulled back... as the high prices prompted profit-taking from traders and investors," said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz international energy consultants in Singapore.

Crude prices surged to two-and-a-half-year highs on Monday with Brent crude topping $120 a barrel for the first time since August 22, 2008 due to the continuing unrest in Libya and positive US economic data.

Statistics released by the US Labour Department Friday showed unemployment in the world's biggest oil consumer declining by 1.0 percentage point to 8.8 percent in March, giving "an upbeat reading on the US economy that supported oil," Shum told AFP.