Oil dips under $61
Reuters, Seoul
Oil fell below $61 a barrel on Monday but was mired in its recent range, with traders torn between the looming spike in winter fuel demand and the potential for high energy costs to curb consumption.News on Friday of robust third-quarter economic growth in the United States and a pick-up in Chinese energy use in September helped support prices, but traders kept a high alert for any softening in demand that would ease global supply strains. US crude slipped 48 cents to $60.74 a barrel by 0737 GMT, reversing Friday's mild gain but remaining planted in last week's $60.50-$62.50 closing range. Prices are down 14 percent from their record high of $70.85 a barrel two months ago. London Brent crude was down 42 cents at $59.00 a barrel. The northern hemisphere winter is dawning at a difficult time for the U.S. oil industry, with refiners and producers still struggling to restore operations after being battered by a succession of Gulf of Mexico hurricanes.
| 
