Oil prices slip again after WTI sinks below $60

SINGAPORE, Dec 12 (AFP): Oil prices sank further in Asia Friday, with analysts warning of little respite from the selling after plunging more than 40 per cent since June.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January deliver was down 66 cents at $59.29 in afternoon trade. The contract on Thursday closed below the psychological $60 mark in New York for the first time since July 2009. Brent crude was down 29 cents at $63.39.

"There just doesn't seem to be any relief for oil prices at the moment," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, told AFP.

"The bearish sentiment is unlikely to change until the end of the year unless we see a significant drop in global production levels or a supply disruption," he said.