WTI oil trading under $78 as Asian stock markets continue slide

WTI oil futures open Monday’s trading session under $78 a barrel as Asian stock markets continue to slide lower, following Friday’s fall on the US Dow Jones and oil prices continue to track market declines.

Latest WTI Oil Price

US Light crude oil futures for November 2011 delivery was trading at $77.54 a barrel, 07.15 GMT this morning in electronic trading on the NYMEX.

Asian Stock Markets

Asian stock markets opened today weak following negative cues from the US Dow Jones on Friday. On Friday, the US stock market closed more than two percent lower as signs of slower growth spanning China, Europe and the US, and the ongoing Greek crisis, hung over the markets.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index, which fell 21.5 percent during the last quarter of 2011, started the new quarter with a 5 percent drop by midafternoon. In Taiwan, the Taiex sank 3.1 percent, and the Straits Times index in Singapore was 2.5 percent lower. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.3 percent by midafternoon.

Markets in mainland China and South Korea are closed for national holidays.

WTI One Year Price Lows

WTI oil futures are now back below prices last seen in September 2010. US Light crude oil prices peaked near $114 a barrel in May of this year but has since fallen 31 percent, as worries grow about a new recession in global economies.

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