Oil Below $70 For First Time Since October

CHRIS KAHN

NEW YORK (AP) — A nine-month rally in oil prices appeared to falter as a gradual sell-off that began in late October gained momentum.

Crude prices declined Friday for the eighth day in a row. The contract for January delivery gave up 67 cents to settle at $69.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It's the first time that oil has closed below $70 a barrel since early October.

Prices tumbled as the dollar gained strength and investors took a second look at paltry demand figures in the West.

The declines came even as the International Energy Agency predicted Friday that global oil demand will rise more than previously anticipated next year.

Yet it wasn't the first such report and analysts are now looking for more concrete signs of demand from both consumers and industry.

"How do you know when the economic recovery really begins? It is when real oil demand growth appears," analyst Phil Flynn said in a report. "Not just artificial demand growth being propped up with smoke and mirrors, but demand growth that comes with solid economic activity and global growth."

The IEA, an energy watchdog for the biggest crude consuming nations, said it raised its estimates for 2010 global oil demand because of increased economic activity in Asia and the Middle East.