Oil slides on Saudi pledge and China fuel price rise

Saudi Arabia said yesterday it will work "individually" and with the other petrol-rich Gulf states to return prices to "fair" levels. The country indicated earlier this year that $100 a barrel was the ideal oil price. The price of oil slid this morning in London as a result, with Brent crude trading down as much as 1pc at $124.40. Oil prices have climbed to $127 a barrel this year, just $20 short of their all-time high, as tighter Western sanctions on Iran threaten to choke off the country's exports. Prices also took a hit this morning after China increased retail fuel prices for the second time in two months, increasing concern that demand in the country - the world's second-largest oil consumer after the US - will decline.