Crude prices down in Asia

SINGAPORE — Crude prices were down in Asia Thursday as nervous traders withdrew from the market ahead of a weekly US stockpile report after the IEA and OPEC cut their global demand outlooks, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, fell 86 cents to $84.71 per barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for November delivery dipped nine cents to $111.27 on its last trading day.

“It may be due to some profit-taking before the weekly inventories report from EIA is released,” said Ker Chung Yang, commodity analyst for Phillip Futures in Singapore.

The stockpile figures provide traders with the latest indicator of energy demand in the world’s largest oil consumer after the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) both downgraded their demand forecasts earlier in the week.

The IEA on Wednesday again cut its 2012 oil estimates owing to a cloudy economic outlook, predicting demand at 90.5 million barrels a day next year, down 210,000 barrels from the previous estimate.

On Tuesday, OPEC also cut its world forecasts for 2011 and 2012, citing uncertainty in the global economy and weaker demand from developing giants China and India.