Oil prices fell to near $88 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors took profits amid light year-end trading volume, as AP reported. Benchmark oil for February delivery fell 35 cents to $89.49 a barrel midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.28 to settle at $89.84 on Thursday. Crude has dropped this week from a high of $91.88 on Monday as some investors sought to take profits after oil rallied during the fourth quarter from the mid-$70s. «We're viewing the sharp sell-off as a deserved market correction within a bull market that has not likely seen a top,» Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report. U.S. crude supplies fell less than analysts expected last week, which weighed on prices by suggesting growth in oil demand may disappoint. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Thursday that oil supplies declined by 1.3 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., forecast a decrease of 3.2 million barrels. In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil dropped 0.6 cent to $2.48 a gallon. February natural gas futures slid 1.6 cents to $4.32 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude fell 25 cents to $92.84 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
