Oil Dips Below $60 a Barrel

By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 6, 2008 8:26 PM CST
Oil Dips Below $60 a Barrel
A customer prepares to pump gas into her vehicle at the Speedway convenience store on State Route 4 in Monroe, Ohio where the price of regular unleaded gas is at $1.81.   (PAT AUCKERMAN)

Oil prices dipped below $60 a barrel tonight for the first time in about a year and a half, as a growing number of economic reports point to a long and painful recession. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell to $59.97 in New York trading, the lowest level since March 2007, before ticking back up to $60.27.

When the economy slows, the demand for energy fades. One side effect: the price of gasoline has tumbled from summer highs, when a gallon cost more than $4. Experts say gasoline could cost half that by year's end. Oil prices have now fallen nearly 60 percent since peaking at $147.27 a barrel in mid-July. They surged above $70 Tuesday, but a crude sell-off began the following day when prices dipped 7.4 percent. (More crude oil stories.)

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