Oil futures tumble below 50 dollars in New York, close at 48.82

NEW YORK (AFP) - Crude oil futures slid below 50 dollars in New York, with the December contract dropping 2.06 dollars to close at 48.82 dollars a barrel.
Traders reconsidered a sharp increase in prices Wednesday following US President George W. Bush`s re-election and took another look at US inventories released a day earlier.
Marshall Steeves at Refco attributed Thursday`s decline to a "delayed reaction" to strong US inventory figures released Wednesday, when the market ignored the data and focused on the Bush re-election.
Another report showing a large increase in natural gas storage also helped bring down prices, he said.
"The fundamentals are not quite as supportive (for higher prices) as has been the case lately," he said.

11/04/2004 - 20:29 GMT - AFP