Gas Prices Plunge in Biggest Drop Ever

(AP) - Oil prices plummeted to a one-year low below $83 a barrel today in European trading as investor fears of a severe global economic downturn sparked a panicked sell-off. "The whole market has lost confidence in everything," said one commodities strategist. "Everyone is worried about global growth, and oil is the front line commodity for that. There's just a lot of panic and fear." More»

Low year-over-year pump prices, oil demand drive revenue down

(AP) - Exxon Mobil’s first-quarter profit fell 58% from the previous year to $4.6 billion—its lowest profit in more than 5 years—as the world's largest publicly traded oil company, along with the rest of the industry, saw gas prices deflate dramatically. This time last year crude was in the triple digits, in the midst of a historic run-up to almost $150 a barrel. But prices spent the rest of the year retreating and have hovered around $50 a barrel since March. More»

High oil, gas prices insulated state from economic turmoil, but no longer

(NEWSER) - Oil’s tumbling price is causing the Texas economy to slip, narrowing the economic gap between it and the rest of the US as unemployment flares and tax revenues and housing prices slide, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Until 30 days ago, there was no feeling at all that anything going on in the rest of the country affected us,” said one real-estate broker. More»

(NEWSER) - OPEC today decided to take 1.5 million barrels of oil per day off the markets to boost prices flirting with 16-month lows, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deep cut will take effect next month. “This slowdown in oil demand is serving to exacerbate the situation in a market which has been oversupplied for some time,” OPEC said in a statement. More»

Price oil halves in 3 months as demand takes a dive

(NEWSER) - Dropping demand sent a barrel of oil dipping below $70 for the first time in 14 months yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Prices have dropped more than 50% in three months—a sign of a deeply troubled economy, but one that could help the world recover as companies that budgeted for $100-plus oil find themselves with extra cash. More»