[MUST READ & SHARE] Oil slips to $105 on weak demand via @iKanzee_RR

Brent crude oil slips to $105 a barrel on
Friday, as oversupply and low demand
outweighed worries over political tensions in
the Middle East, North Africa and Ukraine.
Brent crude was $105.10, its weakest since
July 15 and was down 80 cents at $105.22 a
barrel.
US crude futures fell 85 cents to $97.32 a
barrel, following 6.8 per cent decline last
month, the biggest monthly loss since May
2012.
US crude slipped more than a dollar to an
intraday low of $97.09 earlier in the session,
its lowest since February, after the closure of
a refinery in Kansas.
The outage at Coffeyville refinery, a major
crude consumer, could last up to four weeks,
according to its operator.
Analysts say they expect global oil
production to exceed demand this year and a
supply glut has already built up in the West
African and European markets.
Worries over geopolitical risks to oil supply
have eased despite escalating violence in
parts of the Middle East and North Africa.
“A stronger dollar and concerns about
stalling oil demand especially from China
have been the bear factors at work, eroding
prices,” said David Hufton, Managing Director
of brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
Oil prices remained steady as US job growth
slowed more than expected in July.
Non-farm payrolls increased 209,000 last
month, less than expected, after surging by
298,000 in June, the Labor Department said
on Friday.
The front of the Brent futures price curve is
trading at a heavy discount to later barrels in
a formation known as a contango.
This discount has now lasted longer than any
since early 2011, Morgan Stanley analyst
Adam Longson said.
Oil investors say they are less worried now
than a month ago about the risk to oil
supplies from conflicts and civil turmoil
despite heavy fighting in many countries.
OPEC’s second largest producer, Iraq, is
battling an Islamic insurgency in the north
and west.
The conflict threatens to split the country, but
has yet to have an impact on near-record oil
exports from the south.
Baghdad is also embroiled in a dispute with
Iraqi Kurdistan over oil exports via Turkey.
In Libya, oil output remains around 500,000
barrels per day, down from one million bpd in
2012, following weeks of clashes between
rival militias.
Energy investments in Russia also faced
delays after sanctions imposed by the United
States and European Union limited access to
funds.