|
Oil Falls to 3-Year Low on Signs U.S. in Longest Post-War Slump
Christian Schmollinger and Grant
Smith
Bloomberg
Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
Crude oil fell to the lowest in more than three
years on signs the U.S., the world’s largest energy consumer,
may be in the longest slump since World War II.
The U.S. first entered a recession in December 2007, the panel
of economists that dates American business cycles said yesterday.
The country’s manufacturing output in November contracted
at the fastest pace in 26 years, a report showed. Crude pared
losses as the dollar weakened against the euro, making commodities
more attractive as a currency hedge.
“Demand is going down from week to week, hand-in-hand with
the worldwide slowdown in economic growth,” said Gerrit
Zambo, an oil trader at BayernLB in Munich. “If sentiment
gets worse and equities move lower we could see oil go to $40.”
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
Crude oil for January delivery dropped as much as $1.92, or 3.9
percent, to $47.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. That’s the lowest since May 20, 2005.
It was at $48.56 at 10:47 a.m. in London.
Oil prices have tumbled 68 percent since reaching a record $147.27
on July 11 as the U.S., Europe and Japan face their first simultaneous
recession since World War II.
Crude is also under pressure after the United Arab Emirates’
state-owned producer said it would provide full contractual volumes
to Asian refiners, indicating members of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries may fail to fully comply with production cuts
last month.
“All the poor economic news plus the lack of clear indication
of full compliance on the part of OPEC, means a further downturn
is possible,” said Victor Shum, senior principal at consultants
Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore.
Full
article here
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
