Oil prices dip again

Reuters

Singapore

Oil prices succumbed to concerns of a supply overhang on Thursday, erasing modest early gains as analysts said a persistent global surplus of crude would keep pressuring the market.

U.S. oil futures plunged below $27 dollars a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since 2003, caught in a broad slump across world financial markets as investors worried that a huge oversupply in crude was coinciding with an economic slowdown, especially in China.

Broad market sentiment remained bearish as producers around the world pump 1 million to 2 million barrels of crude every day in excess of demand, creating a huge overhang of stored oil.

Oil prices erased early gains on Thursday, with front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 trading at $28.01 per barrel at 0745 GMT (0245 ET), down 34 cents from their previous close.