Brent crude futures slid sharply in early London trade on Thursday after notching up single-day gains not seen in more than a decade in the previous session.
Futures for January delivery dropped 77 cents to $41.45 per barrel by 1045 GMT. They had closed up $2.97, or well over 7 per cent, on Wednesday on the back of lower than expected inventory data coming out of the US. This was the biggest one-day gain for Brent for almost 14 years.
In pre-open electronic trading, the WTI light crude contract in New York fell 47 cents to $43.72 per barrel.
A fall the morning after a sharp rise is not an uncommon feature of the markets, as some investors seek to take profit.
Prices have been dropping in early December as temperatures stayed mild and heating oil inventories showed counterseasonal gains. This week, however, the weather turned sharply downwards and temperatures are expected to remain below normal for the rest of the year, drawing heating oil stocks that are already some 13 per cent below their level at the same time last year.
Gold held onto Wednesday gains, but was unable to build on them, trading at $441.25-442.00. /www.news.ft.com/