NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices dipped below $70 a barrel for the first time in two months on Thursday, extending losses for a seventh consecutive session, as excess fuel inventories created concerns about weak demand.

U.S. crude for January delivery settled at $70.54 a barrel, down 13 cents, after hitting a low of $69.81. In London, Brent crude settled at $71.86, down 53 cents.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil dropped more than 2 percent to settle below $71 a barrel on Wednesday after government data showed larger-than-expected builds in U.S. refined products due to weak demand in the world’s top consumer.

U.S. crude for January delivery dropped $1.95 to $70.67 a barrel in the sixth consecutive day of losses.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil fell toward $74 a barrel on Monday as low demand for crude oil in the wake of the economic downturn continued to pressure prices, outweighing last week’s strong U.S. job report.

NYMEX crude for January delivery fell $1.34 to $74.13 a barrel by 2:20 p.m. Brent crude dipped 89 cents to $76.63 a barrel.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. crude futures fell over 2 percent to settle below $77 a barrel on Wednesday, extending losses after U.S. government inventory data showed larger-than-expected builds in crude and gasoline stocks.

Crude oil inventories rose 2.1 million barrels last week, a weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed, raising doubts about economic recovery in the world’s top oil consuming nation.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Crude oil prices settled near $78 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by lower-than-expected builds in U.S. oil inventories last week, a weak U.S. dollar and gains on Wall Street.

Crude stocks rose 1.0 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said, less than the 1.2-million-barrel increase forecast. <EIA/S>

NEW YORK (Reuters) – More plant closures could be on the way for the U.S. oil refining industry, which has already idled some plants this year, as profits are squeezed by weak fuel demand and brimming supplies.

“We believe that the U.S. refining industry will only return to decent levels of profitability after the permanent removal of at least 5 percent of its capacity, or around 900,000 bpd. That figure may take a couple of years to achieve,” said Mark Flannery, analyst with Credit Suisse.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Unfazed by a recession and rampant inflation, image-conscious Venezuelans show no signs of cutting back on the facelifts, liposuction, and breast augmentation that have become de rigueur beauty treatments.

“There is never a question of not doing it, but of how you can do it. We all want to get everything done,” said Helen Patino, a 37-year-old former model who had her first breast augmentation when she was 21 and her third about three months ago.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Unfazed by a recession and rampant inflation, image-conscious Venezuelans show no signs of cutting back on the facelifts, liposuction, and breast augmentation that have become de rigueur beauty treatments.

“There is never a question of not doing it, but of how you can do it. We all want to get everything done,” said Helen Patino, a 37-year-old former model who had her first breast augmentation when she was 21 and her third about three months ago.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Valero Energy Corp <VLO.N>,
the top U.S. independent oil refiner, said on Friday that it
has begun permanently shutting down its plant in Delaware City,
Delaware, as the weak economy batters the refining sector.

The San Antonio-based company said it would take a pretax
charge in the fourth quarter of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion,
or $2 to $2.15 per share after taxes, related to the shutdown,
including severance for cutting 550 jobs at the plant.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices rose above $79 a barrel on Monday as a weaker dollar and better-than-expected U.S. consumer spending data boosted prices.

U.S. crude futures for December delivery rose $2.73 to $79.08 a barrel by 1:37 p.m. EST (1837 GMT), after reaching a high of $79.24 a barrel.