Oil prices fell to below $52 a barrel Monday in Asia after the International Energy Agency said it expects global crude demand to drop this year amid the worst worldwide recession in decades. Benchmark crude for May delivery fell 77 cents to $51.47 a barrel by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Thursday rose $2.86 to settle at $52.24 a barrel. Trading was closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday. The Paris-based IEA, an energy policy adviser comprised of 28 countries, said on Friday that demand this year will likely fall by 2.4 million barrels a day to 83.4 million barrels, or 2.8 percent lower than last year. The IEA cited «a growing consensus that economic and oil demand recovery will be deferred to 2010.» In other Nymex trading, gasoline for May delivery fell 1.10 cents to $1.47 a gallon and heating oil dropped 1.35 cents to $1.42 a gallon. Natural gas for May delivery sank 4.1 cents to $3.57 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent prices fell 38 cents to $53.68 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
