The contract closed 2.6 percent lower at US$49.88 on Monday. Total volume traded was about 6 percent above the 100-day average.Brent for February settlement lost 61 cents, or 1 percent, to US$59 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices dropped 1.1 percent to settle at US$59.61 on Monday. Still, inventories at Cushing probably rose by 1.3 million barrels last week, according to a separate forecast compiled by Bloomberg. - Bloomberg

Source: The Star December 18, 2018 06:56 UTC