Oil prices fell further today on worries that a flagging US economy would weigh on crude demand.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery dropped 41 cents to $89.72 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract fell 71 cents to settle at US$90.13 yesterday.
Heating oil prices lost 0.55 cent to $2.498 a gallon (3.8 litres), while gasoline prices dropped 0.28 cent to $2.264 a gallon.
Concerns about the economy were fanned by a US Commerce Department report yesterday that construction of new homes fell nearly a quarter in 2007, the largest drop in 27 years.
Also, a Philadelphia Federal Reserve survey of regional manufacturing activity registered a negative 20.9 from a revised reading of negative 1.6 in December.
The data added to the negative economic sentiment that has been the market's dominant driver in recent days, pushing prices down more than $10 from their record over $100 a barrel two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency cut growth predictions for world oil demand this year to 2.3 per cent from a previous estimate of 2.5 per cent.