Oil prices sink after surging on US growth data

Oil prices sank, mirroring losses on global stock markets, after surging the previous day on news that the United States had emerged from recession.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, slid USD 1.76 to USD 78.11 a barrel.

London's Brent North Sea crude for December dived USD 1.66 to USD 76.38 per barrel.

"Crude prices slid back amid profit-taking, following impressive gains on the back of positive US data, as concerns over poor fundamentals (of supply and demand) continue to linger," said analysts at the Sucden brokerage in London.

Wall Street sank today as the market digested a sharp rally the day before on news of stronger-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter.

Many analysts noted that the GDP expansion was mainly due to exceptional government measures to stimulate growth that would eventually expire.