Oil Slips Below $80 for Third Day of Losses

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices have slipped below $80 a barrel in Asia as traders look to this week's company earnings and U.S. economic data for evidence that justifies last week's jump to a 2009 high.

Benchmark crude for December delivery fell 74 cents to $79.76 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 69 cents a barrel to settle at $80.50 on Friday.

Crude prices, which rose to $82 last week, fell for a third day on investor doubts about the strength of the global economic recovery and as the dollar strengthened.

 

©2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.