Oil hit by US earnings worries Oil prices led a decline in commodities markets, with the Nymex West Texas Intermediate hitting a three-month low amid risk-averse selling triggered by widespread worries about US corporate earnings. Jitters surrounding US earnings in equities markets spread to commodities, with the benchmark Reuters-Jefferies CRB index falling to an 11-week low. Investors sold crude oil, which has held firm over the past few weeks on geopolitical concerns and supply worries, even as other commodities have eased. Analysts said that on a short-term trading perspective, oil prices had been supported at higher levels compared with other commodities. Amrita Sen, chief strategist at oil consultancy Energy Aspects, said crude prices were seeing a short-term correction. "Oil is coming in line with the rest of the commodities complex," she said. Nymex December WTI was trading down $2.20 at $86.45 a barrel after falling as low as $85.69, the lowest level since mid-July, while ICE December Brent fell $1.31 to $108.13 a barrel. Although WTI had been supported by the recent stoppage of the Keystone pipeline for repairs, prospects of rising inventories weighed on the US benchmark. Analysts expect stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the main delivery point for the US crude benchmark, to rise in the fourth quarter thanks to the conversion of BP's Whiting refinery from processing light sweet crude - represented by WTI - to heavy sour grades. Moreover, Canada also has several new oil production projects starting in the fourth quarter, increasing sweet light crude supplies. Brent, the global benchmark, could bounce back after a short-term fall, said Ms Sen, as European refiners return to work after the maintenance period. However, trading is expected to be choppy because investors are likely to focus on macroeconomic worries one week and then geopolitical tensions the next, she added. Gold continued to ease, falling 1.1 per cent to $1,710 a troy ounce. The yellow metal has surprised the gold bugs by failing to rise above a technical resistance level of $1,800 after the US Federal Reserve's decision to ease monetary policy through additional quantitative easing. Edel Tully, precious metals strategist at UBS, said gold had to compete with other risk assets, such as equities and currencies. Industrial metals were also lower, with copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange down 1.1 per cent to $7,854.25 a tonne. However, iron ore prices edged up as Chinese steel mills, which have been using up their inventories due to lower demand, showed signs of rebuilding their stocks. The benchmark iron ore with a 62 per cent iron content rose to $120 a tonne, according to pricing reporting agency Platts. The level is widely regarded as the cost of production for high-cost Chinese iron ore producers.