Oil prices dropped sharply Wednesday as fresh signs emerged of recessionary conditions and OPEC cut its forecast for demand.
Light, sweet crude declined by $4.09 to $74.54 a barrel in New York, and Brent crude fell $3.73 to $70.80 a barrel. The near-month crude contract has now fallen nearly 50% from its all-time high, reached in July. Gasoline futures dropped 10 cents to $1.78 a gallon, and heating oil was lower by 7 cents at $2.19 a gallon. The weakness came after OPEC cut its projections for 2008 and 2009 demand, citing the troubles plaguing financial markets and global economies. On a day the stock market fell sharply, energy shares were no exception. Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote), ConocoPhillips (COP Quote) and Chevron (CVX Quote) all had double-digit percentage losses. Valero (VLO Quote) and Tesoro (TSO Quote) fell 20% and 18.6%, respectively. The U.S. Oil (USO Quote) ETF, which tracks crude prices, slid 6.6%.- Loading Comments...
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| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,464.40 | 1,110.63 | 2,176.05 | 32.79 |
Oil *
78.36
|
|
UP
30.69
|
UP
4.98
|
UP
6.87
|
DOWN
0.38
|
10 Yr
3.28%
SPDR Gold
116.62
|
|
+0.29%
|
+0.45%
|
+0.32%
|
-1.15%
|
Data delayed 20 minutes |














