Oil dips on Greek debt concerns

Singapore - Oil prices were lower in Asian trade on Friday as a bailout deal for debt-strapped Greece was once again delayed, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in March, shed 36 cents to $99.48 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for March was down 44c to $118.15 in the afternoon.

"Prices have dipped... on news that the Greek bailout deal is once again delayed," said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz international energy consultants in Singapore.

"There still isn't sufficient confidence in the eurozone that the austerity measures taken by Greece will hold up," he said.

Eurozone finance ministers on Thursday postponed a decision on a new bailout to save Greece from bankruptcy, giving Athens less than a week to meet three new conditions in return for aid.

The demands include additional structural spending cuts of €325m for 2012, a written pledge from coalition leaders that they would implement austerity measures and an endorsement of those measures by the Greek parliament.

Athens had reached a last-minute deal Thursday on new austerity measures demanded by international lenders in return for the €130bn bailout it urgently needs to avoid defaulting on payments due to bond holders on March 20.

But after seeing Greece drag its feet on reforms for the past two years, eurozone finance ministers want proof that Athens will follow through on its promises this time.

Oil prices were also weighed down after Opec cut its 2012 forecast for growth in global oil demand, analysts said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries now expects daily demand this year of 88.76 million barrels per day (bpd), down from its prediction a month ago of 88.90 million bpd.