Oil prices continued to fall from record highs this month, as fears eased Hurricane Dolly would hit oil and gas supply and US demand dwindled.

A strong session for the dollar also reduced the appeal of commodities, enticing investors to exit oil buying.

US light crude for September delivery fell 73 cents to $127.69 a barrel, down $20 a barrel from its high of close to $147 a barrel on 11 July.

On Tuesday prices fell to $125.63 in intraday trading before rallying.

That intraday price was the weakest since early June.

Meanwhile on Wednesday the price of Brent crude slipped 75 cents to $128.80 a barrel after falling more than $1 earlier in the session.

Dolly spares production

There was relief in the market that the approaching Hurricane Dolly would not have a big impact on oil and gas production.

The US Minerals Management Service announced earlier on Tuesday that only 5% of oil and gas production in the US had been shut down.

"Dolly is not going to hit major production," said Jonathan Kornafel of Hudson Capital Energy.

"The dollar strengthened a little yesterday and that had a bit to do with the fall as well," he added.

Dolly was expected to make landfall well away from important offshore platforms.

Meanwhile, the euro slipped to $1.5755 in European trade, down from $1.5788 late in New York on Tuesday. The pound was flat at $1.9922, while the dollar rose to 107.80 Japanese yen from 107.21 yen late on Tuesday.

'Slower economic growth'

Oil prices were still below $100 a barrel at the turn of the year, and the price is up almost 30% this year.

Prices are also more than six times higher than in 2002, driven partly by demand from booming Asian economies in China and India.

Economic slowdown in the US is a key factors behind the drop in oil prices, say dealers.

"The decline in oil prices reflects concerns that slower economic growth in the US and high oil prices are crimping oil demand," said David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Data due later on Wednesday from the US Energy Information Administration is expected to show stocks of crude have fallen in the past month.

(BBC)

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