US oil prices hung below $37 a barrel today as bleak economic indicators in Asia returned focus to the worldwide oil demand slump.
Following data yesterday showing Japan's economy shrank by the most in 35 years, a Reuters poll showed confidence among manufacturers remained mired near record lows and service sector sentiment fell to its poorest ever.
“Concerns over weak oil consumption continue to weigh on the oil price," David Moore, a commodities analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note.
US light crude fell to $36.69 a barrel at 2.19am, 82 cents off last Friday's settlement but slightly higher than late European trading a day ago.
Ahead of the March contract expiry on Friday, the contract was trading at a wide $4.50 discount to April due to high stock levels in the mid-US.
London Brent crude for April rose 44 cents to $43.72.
The New York Mercantile Exchange did not print a settlement price yesterday as its trading floor was closed for Presidents Day, although electronic trading continued as normal. The floor will reopen later today.
The top 600 companies in South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, plan to cut their capital investments this year for the first time in eight years, South Korea's main lobby group for large companies said yesterday.
World energy demand has fallen considerably in the last few months as the economic crisis hit consumers, pulling oil prices more than 70 percent off the peak above $147 touched last July.