Oil falls below 75 dollars as supply concerns ease

Oil prices slid below 75 U.S. dollars a barrel on Thursday as mixed economic reports and fading worries about supply disruption weighed on the market.

The U.S. Labor Department said that the number of people filing for jobless benefits fell to 450,000 last week, while analysts were expecting a modest rise. But the initial claims have been hovered at this level for the most time of this year, showing employers were still reluctant to hire.

Meanwhile, despite a modest rise in September, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region stayed in contraction area for two consecutive months.

While lackluster data cooled market enthusiasm, investors' worries about crude supply eased after Enbridge said the closed pipeline 6A will resume operation on Friday.

The Line 6A carries 670,000 barrels of crude per day and is the largest of the company's major three pipelines supplying Canadian crude to refiners in Midwest.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 1.45 dollars to settle at 74.57 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude for November delivery fell 1.04 dollars to 78.38 dollars a barrel on the International Futures Exchange in London.

Source:Xinhua