Oil prices drop as China economy slows

Oil prices fell on Thursday as economic data showed slowing growth in China, the world's biggest energy consumer, which added to weak demand in the United States, traders said. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December fell 43 cents to $112.79 a barrel in London midday deals. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December slipped 28 cents to $91.84 a barrel. China's economic growth eased for the seventh straight quarter, official data showed on Thursday, but analysts said the slowdown had almost bottomed out. The 7.4-percent expansion in the three months to the end of September was the weakest since the first quarter of 2009 as persistent problems in key export markets in Europe and the United States continued to hurt the economy. The Chinese economy had grown by 7.6 percent in the previous quarter. "It's not like strong growth, but at least it looks like the Chinese economy is stabilising and there was also some positive news out of the US yesterday for the housing starts data," Purvin and Gertz energy consultants analyst Victor Shum told AFP. Despite the positive US housing figures, world oil prices fell on Wednesday as traders reacted to a far bigger-than-expected surge in crude inventories in top global consumer the United States.