Oil prices on Friday slipped to their lowest levels for this year as traders focused on supply and demand factors, putting aside for the time being concerns about Iran and other geopolitical hot spots.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, lost US$0.78 to close at US$61.84 per barrel. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for March delivery fell US$1.11 to end at US$59.64 per barrel.
The closing prices were the lowest since Dec. 30, before the spike linked to concerns about Iran's nuclear energy program.
Fimat trading firm analyst Mike Fitzpatrick said after focusing on geopolitical tensions in the first few weeks of the year, market players have "momentarily refocused on fundamentals."
He said no immediate action will be taken against Iran, which is embroiled in a raging dispute with the international community over its nuclear program.
Similarly, Venezuela's ambassador has pledged his country will continue to supply the US with oil despite a political rift that has led to the expulsion of envoys in the past few days.
Oil prices had topped US$66 on Monday when the International Atomic Energy Agency voted to refer Iran, a major crude producer, to the UN Security Council over its controversial nuclear program.
But they tumbled on Wednesday on data that revealed strong energy stockpiles in the US.
Elsewhere, the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday issued a slight downward revision to its forecast for growth of global oil demand this year and said last month's supply levels were "healthy" compared with the same month last year.
In its monthly report for this month, the IEA predicted worldwide demand for oil would increase by 1.78 million barrels per day this year instead of its previous projection of 1.83 million barrels per day. Total demand is now put at about 85.1 million barrels per day for this year.
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