Oil prices slip in Asian trade

Oil prices slipped on profit- taking in Asia on Friday following sharp gains in the previous session as ongoing unrest in the Middle East fuels worries about supplies from the crude-rich region, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 26 cents to USD 57.48 while Brent eased 26 cents to USD 64.59 in late-morning trade. WTI yesterday gained USD 1.58 and Brent advanced USD 2.12.

"It seems to be profit-taking at the moment for oil after gains due to supply-side and geopolitical catalysts," Nicholas Teo, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.

"Rumblings from Saudi Arabia about Yemen have influenced prices in the past few days," he added. Yemen is not a major oil-producing country, but its coast forms one side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the key strategic entry point into the Red Sea through which some 4.7 million barrels of oil passes each day on ships headed to or from the Suez Canal.

Daniel Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore, said oil prices will also likely see further gains following signs that US crude production is easing.

The US Department of Energy said Wednesday US production slipped by 18,000 barrels a day in the week to April 17, following a 20,000 barrel drop in the previous week. Total crude reserves in the top crude consumer however stand at record levels, adding 5.3 million barrels in the same period.

Dealers are hoping a slowdown in US shale output could alleviate a global crude oversupply, which led to a collapse in prices of more than 50 percent between June and January. "Although inventories obviously show bearishness, production has stopped increasing, which is an event we have been waiting for" since prices hit their low, Ang said.