Oil price slips after IMF predicts possible recession for world's biggest economies

BANGKOK – The price of oil headed down again Wednesday as gloomy economic forecasts pushed supply concerns to the background.

Benchmark oil was down 28 cents to $92.11 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $3.06 to finish at $92.39 per barrel on concerns about supplies from the Middle East and the North Sea.

In London, Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 32 cents to $114.18.

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday the world's advanced economies are at risk of recession, a development that would likely depress the consumption of energy. The IMF cut its forecast for global growth this year to 3.3 percent from a forecast of 3.5 percent issued in July.

Traders have been watching developments in Syria for any signs of a disruption in supplies from the Middle East. Cross-border artillery exchanges with Turkey have heightened fears that the violence between government and opposition forces in Syria could escalate into a wider regional conflict.

Oil analyst Stephen Schork said traders on Wednesday will be watching for the release of the Federal Reserve's so-called Beige Book report on business conditions in the U.S. The report is released eight times a year and is based on information that the Fed's 12 regional banks gather from business contacts around the country

In other futures traded in New York:

— Natural gas rose 3.9 cents to $3.506 per 1,000 cubic feet.

— Heating oil fell 0.9 cent to $3.195 per gallon.

— Wholesale gasoline fell 0.3 cent to $2.955 per gallon.