Oil slipped to near $77 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid mixed signs about the global economy and crude demand, AP reported. Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 11 cents to $77.45 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 9 cents to settle at $77.56 on Monday. Investor optimism was buoyed by a report Monday from the National Association of Realtors that October home sales rose more than 10 percent, suggesting strength in the U.S. economy. But crude refiner Valero Energy said it shut down a plant last week because demand for oil products such as gasoline has been weak. In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.1 cent to $1.9789 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery dropped 0.19 cent to $1.9813 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery slid 3.3 cents to $4.44 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude for January delivery rose 6 cents to $77.49 on the ICE Futures exchange.
