SINGAPORE — Oil prices fell to an 8-month low below $90 a barrel on speculation that the spreading financial crisis will exacerbate a global economic slowdown and cut demand for crude oil.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $4.69 to $89.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late this afternoon in Singapore.
Oil prices have tumbled nearly 40 percent since peaking in July. The Nymex front-month contract last traded this low in early February.
of course the reason for this good news isn’t particularly good:
The drop came as world stock markets plunged amid growing investor anxiety that the U.S. bad debt crisis is enveloping Europe. Germany announced Sunday a bailout package totaling 50 billion euros ($69 billion) for Hypo Real Estate, the country’s second-biggest commercial property lender, part of a scramble by European governments to save failing banks.