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SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell below $93 a barrel on Monday in Asia as investors mulled whether slowing global economic growth justified a surge in crude this month.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 48 cents at $92.84 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 64 cents to settle at $93.32 in New York on Friday.

Brent crude was down 5 cents at $109.86 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.
Crude has soared this month, up 24 percent from $75 on Oct. 4, amid investor expectations European leaders would soon announce a plan to contain Greece’s debt crisis. Last week, EU policymakers said they agreed to lower Greece’s debt level over the next decade and require bondholders to accept 50 percent losses.

Traders are now turning their attention to the global economy, especially to weak growth in the US and Europe. Some analysts expect the jump in crude prices in October will push gasoline prices higher and undermine demand.

"The market has come a very long way in a very short amount of time,’’ energy trader and consultant The Schork Group said in a report. "That is not to say it cannot go even farther, but it is to say that it has certainly gone far enough to start pinching consumers.’’

Investors will be closely watching the latest employment figures scheduled to be announced Friday for signs about the strength of the US economy. Gross domestic product grew 2.5 percent in the third quarter, allaying fears of a recession, but consumer confidence is at its lowest in almost three years.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.8 cent to $3.06 per gallon and gasoline futures slid 1.5 cents at $2.63 per gallon. Natural gas advanced 0.9 cent at $3.93 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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BEIJING: China will conduct a manned space mission in 2012, an official said on Monday.

Spokeswoman for the programme Wu Ping said Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spaceships will be launched in 2012. They are expected to dock with China’s first space lab module, Tiangong-1, she said at a press conference, Xinhua reported.

"At least one mission of the two will be manned," Wu added.

The crew members have already been selected for the possible space docking mission in 2012 and are being trained for manual docking skills, Wu said.

Before the manned flight, China has to test its knowhow on space docking by launching an unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8, whose takeoff is scheduled at 5.58 a.m. Tuesday, and connecting Shenzhou-8 with the target orbiter Tiangong-1.

"We (will) equip the spacecraft with devices to record real images and mechanical parameters during its flight, both of which are vital to future manned missions," Wu said.