TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures fell below $67 a barrel to a fresh three-week low in electronic trading Tuesday amid continued pressure from concerns over oil demand.
Crude for August delivery fell to as low as $66.37 a barrel on Globex by the afternoon in Tokyo. It was last at $66.48, down $1.02.
The July crude futures contract expired at the close of trading Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That contract dropped $2.62, or 3.8%, to $66.93 a barrel, marking the lowest closing level since June 3.
The World Bank said the global economy will shrink 2.9% this year, worse than the 1.7% contraction it predicted in March, rekindling worries about oil demand. See full story on World Bank forecast.
"I think the World Bank Report was a sharp reality check," said Robert "Tony" Nunan, an assistant general manager at Mitsubishi Corp. in Tokyo.
