Cheaper Oil to Hurt Chevron's Fourth Quarter

HOUSTON -- Chevron(CVX Quote) said the huge drop in crude prices at the end of 2008 will be a big blow to its fourth-quarter earnings, a sharp reversal from the favorable market conditions that fueled record profits earlier in the year.

After peaking above $147 a barrel in July, oil prices spent the remainder of 2008 falling dramatically. When the fourth quarter began Oct. 1, crude was trading at around $100 a barrel. Three months later, on Dec. 31, it settled at $44.60, a decline of nearly 60%.

During the first two months of the fourth quarter, Chevron said its crude oil price averaged $61.70 per barrel, a 45% drop from the $112.22 a barrel it realized for the entire third quarter. ...