Oil Prices Plunge to 5-Year Low

OPEC expected to slash production to push up prices
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 5, 2008 2:43 AM CST
Oil Prices Plunge to 5-Year Low
An oil production platform in the North Sea. Oil is heading for the lowest prices in five years.   (AP Photo/Oddvar Walle Jensen, Scanpix/file)

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.

 "We think prices should start stabilizing after the OPEC meeting," said an analyst. "Still, a bottoming process is likely to extend well into 2009.'' (More crude oil stories.)

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