Crude oil plunged 10 percent as startled investors unloaded their positions and a weeklong decline accelerated into an outright freefall. The price of U.S. crude went from triple digits to double digits, falling below $100 after opening at close to $110. Brent crude, a European benchmark, lost $12 at one point in a sell-off that exceeded the one following Lehman Brothers’ collapse, Reuters reported.
The current price of a barrel of WTI crude oil, U.S. Texas Intermediate reference data were negative, dropping to $ 0.41 to settle at $ 113.52 and the price per barrel of crude on the New York market.
Oil prices rose above $113 a barrel Thursday in Asia to the highest since 2008 as a weakening U.S. dollar made commodities such as crude cheaper for investors with other currencies.
Oil prices rose above $109 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. gasoline supplies fell for a second week, suggesting higher fuel costs haven’t yet curbed demand.
Oil prices fell below $107 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after a credit agency cut the outlook of its U.S. rating, raising concerns about economic growth and crude demand.
U.S. crude inventories rose by more than analysts’ expectations last week, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Oil prices dropped to above $109 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, extending losses from the previous session ahead of key reports on the impact of rising fuel costs on global crude demand.
A U.S. Senate panel will vote on legislation this week that would allow the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for price fixing as surging gasoline prices once again threaten the economy.
BP PLC is in talks to resume drilling at 10 existing deep-water Gulf of Mexico wells in exchange for adhering to stricter safety rules, company officials said.
Azerbaijan has launched a new gas-compressor station to handle a planned increase in gas supplies to Iran, Azeri state energy firm SOCAR said.
