Oil slips below $100

SINGAPORE — Oil fell to near $87 a barrel Thursday in Asia as investors waited for word on whether European central bankers will take measures to boost flagging economic growth.

Benchmark oil for August delivery was down 65 cents at $87.01 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose $3.91 to close at $87.66 on Tuesday, the last day the August contract settled in New York.

In London, Brent crude for August delivery was up 1 cent at $99.78 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Analysts expect the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to either cut lending rates or boost money in circulation at meetings later Thursday. Europe’s weak economy and the continent’s debt crisis have helped pull oil prices down from $106 two months ago.

The US Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration announces its weekly report later Thursday on the latest US crude supply figures.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories fell 3 million barrels last week while stocks of gasoline fell 1.4 million barrels.

US gasoline “supplies are low, but demand is even lower,” energy trader and consultant The Schork Group said in a report. — AP