Oil Dips Below $100 for First Time in 5 Months

Vessel nabbed en route from Bahrain to race in Dubai

(AP) - Iran is holding five British sailors after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf, the British government said today. The yacht, owned by Sail Bahrain, was stopped on its way from the tiny island country to Dubai on Wednesday when it "may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters," according to the Foreign Office. The seizure may be related to recent international pressure on Iran to drop its nuclear program, the AP reports. More»

Prices drop almost 8%; stocks down early on Wall Street

(AP) - A new batch of lousy economic news dragged oil prices down nearly 8% today as signs from across the globe pointed to a prolonged and painful recession. Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $2.87 to $34.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after settling at $37.51 on Friday. Nymex was closed yesterday. More»

(NEWSER) - OPEC has approved a cut in output of 2.2 million barrels of crude a day, the largest reduction ever, MSNBC reports. The consortium believes that stabilizing prices now by decreasing supply will guard against a price spike when consumer confidence increases. OPEC’s monthly report predicts that demand will have fallen 700,000 barrels in 2008, and will decline by twice that amount in 2009. More»

OPEC expected to slash production to push up prices

(NEWSER) - Oil prices continue to plunge as demand slackens amid the global economic downturn. Oil has dropped 19% drop this week, the biggest weekly decline in five years, reports Bloomberg. Prices have tumbled 70% since reaching a record $147.27 in July, and some predict prices may dip as low as $25 a barrel. OPEC will announce a cut in output at its next meeting Dec. 17, according to a spokesman. More»

(AP) - 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. More»