NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices continued slipping Friday to their lowest level in a month on renewed economic concerns and insufficient demand for crude.

Benchmark crude for September delivery fell 35 cents to settle at US$75.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The rally in early August that pushed prices above US$82 has been reversed. Investors appear to be giving into fears that second-half global economic growth will be slower than previously expected.

Andrew Lebow, an oil trader with MF Global in New York, said investors have been discouraged by lower-than-expected oil imports in China and the disappointing growth in the U.S. economy.

“A lot of optimism that we had a few weeks ago has been dashed,” Lebow said.

On Friday, the Commerce Department reported that, excluding autos and gasoline sales — which accounted for one-fourth of the July figures — retail sales fell 0.1 percent in July, continuing a recent weak trend.

“The ghosts of a global economic slowdown are back and haunting the oil market again,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “No doubt, like China, the growth in U.S. oil demand is likely to slow down as the months progress.”

In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil was down less than one cent to US$1.9956 a gallon, gasoline fell 1.52 cents to US$1.9396 a gallon and natural gas gained 3.2 cents to US$4.328 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was down 29 cents at US$75.11 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Photo: Oil Prices – Oil Pump

Caption: In this August 5, 2010 file photo, an oil pump works in the Persian Gulf desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. Oil prices slipped to their lowest level in a month on Friday amid economic concerns and insufficient demand for crude.