Oil Prices Slump Today - A Reaction to the Recession
Dec 12th, 2008 |
Oil prices slumped below $45 a barrel today in reply to brand new evidence of the U.S. recession and news that a $14 billion emergency bailout for U.S. automakers had collapsed in the Senate.
The decline wiped out most of the strong gains made in the previous day’s session, but traders said expectations of a significant production cut by OPEC would help keep a floor under prices.
By mid-afternoon in Europe, light, sweet crude for January delivery was down $3.42 to $44.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Overnight, the contract surged $4.46, or 10 percent, to settle at $47.98.