Oil prices fall to fresh low

Reuters

Singapore

Oil prices fell to fresh April lows on Friday as slowing economic growth threatened to worsen ongoing oversupply of crude and refined products.

International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading at $42.42 at 0657 GMT, down 28 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their previous close, at their lowest since April.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell 27 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $40.87 a barrel, slipping below $41 for the first time since April.  Both crude benchmarks are now down around 20 percent since their last peak in June.  Because refiners produced too much fuel from cheap crude, margins in the Americas, Europe and Asia have fallen sharply this year, eroding revenues for oil producers and refiners like Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), which this week reported poor results.  "Margins remain on a negative trajectory ... This seems a clear signal that Atlantic Basin refined product markets are currently oversupplied," Jason Gammel of U.S. investment bank Jefferies said on Friday.