Oil prices drop close to 50 dollars

Updated at: 1732 PST, Wednesday, November 19, 2008 LONDON: Oil prices dropped on Wednesday, with Brent crude falling close to 50 dollars a barrel, as demand for energy weakens worldwide and as the market awaits data on the health of US crude stockpiles.Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January was down 27 cents at 51.57 dollars a barrel in late morning trade on London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE). Earlier it touched 50.61 dollars.On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for December delivery slipped 29 cents to 54.10 dollars a barrel. It earlier fell to 53.30 dollars, the lowest point since January 2007."Concerns about slow demand from the global economic woes continue to weigh on market sentiment," said Michael Davies, an oil analyst at Sucden brokers in London.Later on Wednesday, the US Department of Energy publishes its latest weekly snapshot of energy inventories in the United States, the world's biggest oil consuming nation."An increase in distillate stocks may have been limited by some increase in heating oil demand due to cooler weather in the US Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market," said Davies."Refinery capacity utilisation is expected near unchanged at 84.6 pecent; last year the figure was at 87 percent," he added.Oil prices have plunged almost two-thirds since striking record highs of above 147 dollars in July as a global economic slowdown dents world energy demand.Prices in London had last week slumped to three-and-a-half-year lows close to 50 dollars, prompting the OPEC exporters' cartel to call an emergency meeting in Cairo to discuss output levels.Crude futures should drop further to 43 or 44 dollars a barrel before rebounding along with the global economy next year, CFC Seymour securities said in a report published on Wednesday."We believe prices will be in decline until evidence emerges that the US is on track to end its recession," CFC Seymour said in Hong Kong.The London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES) on Tuesday forecast a contraction in global demand for the first time in 25 years amid a severe global economic slowdown.On Monday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which produces 40 percent of the world's oil, said it was ready to intervene on a regular basis to help prop up the prices.