Oil prices continue to slide

Oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels in five months as higher refinery production helped boost fuel inventories in the US and BP said it might be able to restore supplies from its Alaskan oil field sooner than expected.

Traders ignored threats by Nigerian oil workers to stage an indefinite strike over security concerns.

In London the price of Brent crude hovered around 66 dollars a barrel having been up at a record 78 dollars during the fighting between Hizbollah and Israel.

The oil price fall helped European shares rebound for the first time in four sessions, limiting the week’s losses which had come from investors fretting about economic growth and inflation triggering more interest rates rises.

Leisure, travel, airline and chemical company shares all rose on the prospect of cheaper fuel.

Mining stocks declined as profit taking pulled down copper prices.

The dollar and the yen both gained against the euro.

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