Oil prices slip on profit-taking in Asian trade

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Oil prices retreated in Asian trade Monday as investors took profits after the market's record run last week, dealers said.

At 10:00 am (0200 GMT), New Tork's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, was down 69 cents to 74.79 US
dollars a barrel from 75.48 dollars in late US trade Friday.

Brent North Sea crude for September dropped 25 cents to 74.50 dollars.

"There was a lot of buying momentum (last week) and after that, some market participants started to lock in profits," said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.

"That is what we are continuing to see this morning," he said.
New York oil struck a record high of 78.77 dollars last week on concerns over tight supplies after the US Department of Energy said crude stockpiles sank 6.5 million barrels in the week ended July 27.

That much more than market expectations for a drop of 1.13 million barrels and sparked fresh concern over tight global energy supplies.

Meanwhile OPEC member Kuwait said Sunday the record prices were due to continued growth in the world economy and political instability in major oil producing regions.

Nawal Al-Fuzaia, Kuwait's representative at the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said demand was increasing from China, India and the United States for "petrol products,
particularly in the transport sector such as cars, aeroplanes."

OPEC expects global demand for oil will rise by up to 1.3 million barrels per day next year, Fuzaia said.

She added prices also rose because of "political instability ... in the Middle East and the rising tension between the United States and Iran over the Iranian nuclear issue."