Oil prices stable

Reuters

Singapore

Oil prices stabilised on Wednesday after falling for two straight days on concerns that slowing economic growth and rising Middle East output would extend a global supply overhang.

Brent crude futures were trading at $45.02 per barrel at 0703 GMT, up 5 cents from their last settlement.

U.S. crude was up 11 cents at $43.76 a barrel.  Wednesday´s dips followed two trading sessions in which Brent fell nearly 7 percent and WTI nearly 5 percent from end-April levels, pulled down by rising output from the Middle East and renewed signs of economic slowdown in Asia.

"Asia´s big markets continue to disappoint: Japan sank further, China relapsed, and India slipped," said Frederic Neumann of HSBC in Hong Kong, adding that exports were "stuck below the waterline" and "local demand looks wobbly, too.