Oil prices fall on concerns about oversupply

New York -Oil prices dropped Friday, resuming a downward tilt due to concerns about a mismatch between lofty petroleum supplies and tepid demand growth.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery fell 56 cents to $92.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

European benchmark Brent oil for October delivery shed 97c to $97.11 a barrel in London, its lowest closing price since June 2012.

Friday's drop resumed a trend in September towards lower prices that was interrupted by a rally Thursday.

"The US is essentially drowning itself with oil and the demand is not solid enough," said Oliver Sloup, director of managed futures at iiTrader.

Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures, said the drop in Brent reflects "ongoing worries that global demand growth has slowed."

Leading energy forecasters including the International Energy Agency this week trimmed their oil demand forecasts due to weak economic conditions in China and Europe.

Oil traders were discounting positive news, such as a solid 0.6 percent gain in US retail sales in August, Evans said.

"The failure to rally on bullish news confirms that bearish market sentiment continues to dominate," he said.