The price of New York oil fell on Friday as forecasts of slower growth in crude demand offset a tight supply situation for energy, analysts said. The International Energy Agency's forecast reflected a “dramatic” slowing of the United States economy. Its warning came in a week in which the US government announced heavy falls to its energy stockpiles - news that sent crude futures soaring to record highs of above $112 a barrel on Wednesday. In Friday trade, New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, fell by 39 cents to $109.72. The contract had rocketed to a record $112.21 on Wednesday. In London on Friday, London's Brent North Sea crude for May firmed nine cents to $108.29 per barrel, after striking a historic $109.98 on Thursday. In its monthly report on trends in the energy market, the IEA revised down “significantly” its estimate for global demand for oil this year to 87.2 million barrels per day, a reduction of 310,000 barrels per day from the estimate in the March report. The IEA's oil demand growth forecast for 2008 has been cut from two percent last month to 1.5 percent this month, yet oil prices are close to the highs. “The mechanics of oil markets have changed, as market participants are ignoring the fundamentals of supply and demand and are instead ploughing money into the oil markets in search for better returns and as a means of hedging against inflation.” Crude futures had been boosted on Wednesday after the US Department of Energy reported that American energy stockpiles fell across the board during the week ending April 4. US crude reserves slumped by 3.2 million barrels and gasoline or petrol inventories shed 3.4 million barrels, the DoE said. Both falls were higher than market expectations. Traders are focused on supplies of gasoline - refined from crude oil - ahead of peak demand in the US driving season, starting in May, when many Americans hit the roads for their holidays. In Paris, Saudi Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said there were not enough buyers of oil to justify an increase in oil production, despite high prices. __
