London: Oil fell below $78 a barrel on Tuesday, extending its recent losing streak, as producer group Opec said supply was ample to meet winter demand and trimmed estimated demand for its oil.
US crude fell 6 cents to $77.94 a barrel by 1455 GMT. The New York Mercantile Exchange will combine prices for Monday and yesterday into a single trading session because of the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Brent dropped by 63 cents to $76.46 a barrel.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or Opec, the source of more than a third of the world's oil, said in its monthly report that demand for its oil would average 28.59 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, 20,000 bpd less than expected last month.
"Inventories remain high enough to cope with any sudden jump in winter demand," the report said.
