NEW YORK - West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery fell 81 cents to settle at $94.89 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was as high as $98.60 earlier in the session. Brent crude, used to price many international oil varieties, added 7 cents to settle at $116.81 per barrel in London.
Oil climbed early in the day after US lawmakers came up with a last-minute deal to raise the US debt ceiling and avoid default. But the economy is still sluggish, and traders noted that spending cuts won’t spark US energy demand.
Independent oil analyst Jim Ritterbusch said soft oil demand will be a rising concern “once the initial hoopla of the debt ceiling deal subsides.’’
Oil has been sliding since last week following reports gasoline demand continues to be weak, while the economy grew just 1.3 percent from April to June.
Gasoline pump prices were virtually unchanged at a national average of $3.705 per gallon. A gallon of regular is 16.4 cents higher than it was at the beginning of June, and 97 cents more than at the same time last year. The average price in Massachusetts was $3.759 a gallon in the latest weekly survey from AAA, up a penny in one week.
