Brent Crude slips 7 cents on worries of patchy US Economy

Thursday morning trade witnessed a slight change in the oil prices on concerns about swaying United States economy.

According to the details, Brent crude futures slipped 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $44.36 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures inched up 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $41.54 a barrel.

WTI slid to its lowest close in nearly four weeks and Brent at its lowest since Aug. 21, after a U.S. Federal Reserve survey showed the economic recovery was mixed.

In further signs of a limited recovery, U.S. gasoline demand dropped in the week to Aug. 28 to 8.78 million barrels per day from 9.16 million bpd a week earlier, the Energy Information Administration said.

Market Analysts said “All in all, we think there is enough spare oil capacity and enough pressure on demand growth to justify only a gradual increase in oil prices over the next 12 months,”

U.S. refinery run rates fell to 76.5% of total capacity last week.