Crude oil slides

SINGAPORE - Crude fell from a 31-month high in New York after Saudi Arabia's national oil company indicated the kingdom isn't comfortable with current prices, prompting some investors to sell contracts.

Futures slid as much as 1 percent as Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Khalid al-Falih said the world's biggest crude exporter is "not comfortable" with prices and is committed to keeping aside a "sizable cushion" of spare capacity.

"Oil has come down after Saudi Arabia signaled it isn't happy with current prices because it fears the impact on the global economy," said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.

On Monday, oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as much as $1.16 to $111.12 a barrel.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 04/27/2011 page16)