Oil prices fall in Asian trade

Updated at: 1356 PST, Wednesday, October 22, 2008
SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell below US$70 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors shrugged off a looming OPEC production cut after company forecasts suggested the U.S. may be headed for a severe economic slowdown that crimps crude demand.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery dropped US$2.73 toUS$69.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore.

The November contract expired Tuesday and fell US$3.36 to settle at US$70.89. Last Thursday, that contract had declined as low asUS$68.57 a barrel, the lowest since June 2007. Crude oil is down 52 percent from its peak of $147.27 reached in mid-July.