Oil prices fall as China share crisis worsens

Oil futures fell again on Wednesday as worries over the Greek debt crisis and China's stock market turmoil outweighed an expected US inventory drop, with traders anticipating further drops. Front-month Brent crude futures were 60 cents lower at $56.25 a barrel at 0657 GMT, and are down over 6 per cent so far this week to levels last seen in April. US crude was down 59 cents at $51.74, down more than 8 per cent for the week. Yet trade data showed that the market is preparing for further falls. Open interest in options to sell US crude at $50 per barrel has fallen almost 15 per cent since the beginning of July, while those to sell at $45 a barrel have risen 12.5 per cent, according to0 Reuters.