Oil drops below $100 on worry of weaker US demand |
| The Associated Press - May 5, 2011 |
Oil plunged nearly 9 percent to settle below $100 per barrel. Mounting concerns about the U.S. economy triggered the biggest one-day percentage decline in more than two years.
Thursday's decline of $9.44 per barrel, or 8.6 percent, brings the week's loss for oil to $14.13, or 12.4 percent.
Oil rose 35 percent from mid-February through the end of April. As it climbed above $100, economists warned that high fuel prices were taking a toll on the U.S. economy. Gasoline demand fell as motorists paid more at the pump, a trend reinforced by industry and government studies released this week. On Thursday, worries about the job market ahead of Friday's key employment report added to concerns about fuel demand.
A higher dollar also contributed to Thursday's sell-off. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for June settled at $99.80 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the lowest settlement since March 16. The last time oil had this big of a one--day percentage decline was April 20, 2009, when a barrel of oil cost less than half as much as it does now.
Read Full Article from The Associated Press
- Posted: 2011-05-05 15:04:01
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