BISINISS WORLD NEWS

SINGAPORE: Oil was lower in Asian trade Monday as investors took profit after prices shot up to their highest level in a year last week, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery dropped 54 cents to 79.96 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery eased 46 cents to 78.46 dollars a barrel.

New York crude hit 82 dollars Wednesday, its highest level since October 14, 2008 as the dollar slumped, boosting the appetite of investors holding stronger foreign currencies.

A weak US currency usually boosts crude prices because holders of stronger foreign units then find it cheaper to invest in dollar-denominated oil futures.

The price declines are expected to be limited as the dollar is likely to stay weak, analysts said.

"Over the medium term, the US dollar is still set to decrease in value further," analysts from Singapore's DBS bank said in a report.

A slew of key US economic data due out this week, including third quarter growth figures for the world's biggest economy, is also expected to have an impact on crude prices, analysts said.

The US economy is expected to grow an average 3.0 percent in the third quarter after four quarters of contraction but analysts from London-based Capital Economics are tipping growth of slightly above 4.0 percent.

"We suspect the markets may be pleasantly surprised by the first release of the third-quarter GDP figures, not just because they will confirm that the recession has ended," Capital Economics' analysts said in a report.

"Looking ahead, a sharp slowdown in the rate of inventory liquidation alongside an acceleration in the growth rate of business investment should ensure that GDP growth remains strong into the first half of next year," they said.

The US is the world's biggest energy user and its slide into a recession has sent crude prices falling from historic highs of over 147 dollars in 2008 to about 32 dollars in December.

Recent signs of a recovery underway