Crude oil futures hold near 4-month low on global growth fears

                       Crude oil futures swung between gains and losses during European morning hours on Thursday, holding near the lowest level in four months as investors remained concerned over the global economic outlook and its impact on future oil demand.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at USD87.19 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.2% on the day.

New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 1.2% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD85.92 a barrel, the weakest level since December 13.

Concerns over the global economic outlook intensified earlier in the week after the International Monetary Fund cut its 2013 forecast for global growth to 3.3%, down from its January projection of 3.5%. 

The growth projection for China was trimmed to 8% from 8.2%, while the growth outlook for the U.S. was lowered to 1.9% from 2%.

The U.S. and China are the world’s two largest oil consuming nations.

Meanwhile, concerns over the global energy demand outlook were underlined after both the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut their demand estimates for 2013 last week.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for June delivery was up 0.3% to trade at USD98.00 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD10.81 a barrel, the smallest gap since January 2012.

London-traded Brent futures fell to a session low of USD96.76 a barrel earlier in the day, the weakest level since July 2.

The European benchmark has been under heavy selling pressure in recent sessions, amid growing concerns over the euro zone’s economic outlook. 

The IMF said earlier in the week that the euro zone remains the weakest part of the global economy. The 17 countries using the euro accounted for about 12% of world demand last year.