LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell below $62 on Thursday, pressured by concerns about weakness in world stock markets and the health of the economy in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer.
U.S. crude was down 37 cents at $61.43 a barrel by 1432 GMT, after ending 33 cents higher on Wednesday. London Brent crude was down 17 cents at $61.73.
Oil prices have been volatile since a nearly 9 percent drop on China's main stock market on Tuesday, the steepest fall for a decade, which triggered big falls in U.S. and European markets.
Analysts predicted oil and other commodities could continue to be influenced by nervous stock markets in the coming days.
"It is difficult to say which direction the next $5 on crude will take," Edward Meir wrote in the Man Energy Daily Report.
"It will probably be by only next week that we decouple from the equity markets altogether ... Of particular concern to us is that the selling in equities may not be over just yet."
Crude prices bounded higher on Wednesday in response to U.S data that showed unexpectedly large draws in inventories of distillates, including heating oil, which fell 3.8 million barrels, while gasoline slid 1.9 million barrels.
Analysts said the fall in stocks offset concerns about a slowdown in U.S. growth after weak economic data on Wednesday.
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