Oil edging towards biggest weekly drop since May

Brent crude dropped towards US$113 today as risk aversion grew because of Greece's debt crisis, sending prices down by more than 4 percent this week in the biggest drop since early May.

17 June 2011, 12:00am

1 min read

The euro weakened, with markets still unconvinced that Greece could dodge a default even after appearing to secure a round of near-term funding.

Brent crude for August tumbled 67 cents to US$113.35 barrel by 6:45 a.m., while U.S. crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate retreated 70 cents to US$94.25.

U.S. data over the week showed the economy of the world's top oil consumer continued to sputter in the second quarter. It also offered evidence the recovery was on course to regain momentum as the year progresses.

The International Energy Agency yesterday raised the pressure on OPEC to increase output by forecasting a steep rise in oil demand later this year and predicting the strain on supply would last over the medium term.

The Paris-based IEA raised its assessment of how much OPEC oil would be needed this year by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 30.1 million bpd in a monthly report.