Global oil prices have retreated as they were unable to recover heavy losses caused by profit-taking ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

Crude for December delivery fell 51 cents Tuesday compared to the previous day to close at 49.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tuesday's closing price marked the first time for the price to drop below 50 dollars in nearly a month.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in December lost 16 cents to 46.55 dollars a barrel in electronic deals.

Market analysts attributed the decline in oil prices to the expansion of U.S. inventories of crude oil for the past five weeks and the outlook that demand for oil is expected to drop with a slowdown of the U.S. economy stemming from high oil prices and an interest rate hike.