Oil slides

Singapore: Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday, continuing Tuesday´s slide after the International Energy Agency cast doubts over the past months´ narrative of tightening fuel markets.

Brent crude futures were at $61.47 per barrel at 0106 GMT, down 74 cents, or 1.2 percent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $55.10 per barrel, down 60 cents, or over 1 percent.

The price falls mean that crude prices are now down by around 5 percent since hitting 2015 highs last week, ending a 40-percent rally between June and early November.

"Crude oil prices fell sharply after the IEA raised doubts about the outlook for 2018," ANZ bank said on Wednesday.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday cut its oil demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) for this year and next, to an estimated 1.5 million bpd in 2017 and 1.3 million bpd in 2018.