Oil Prices

[NYer]

Crude falls below$52/barrel. (http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/11/D8MJBHM03.html)

Oil plunged below $52 a barrel Thursday to its lowest price since May extending a sharp decline that has been led by dampened heating oil demand, but which could save consumers money on a more widely used fuel: gasoline.

Crude oil has tumbled by 15 percent so far this year in a huge sell- off that was kicked off by investment funds last year, and then stoked by a historically warm U.S. winter that has left supplies of heating fuel barely touched.

[NYer]

Oil falls to 19 month low. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=ap9i3C_FTkR4&refer=energy)

Crude oil in New York plunged to the lowest in more than 19 months after Saudi Arabia's oil minister rejected calls for more production cuts.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries must wait to assess the effect of supply curbs that start Feb. 1, the minister, Ali al-Naimi, told reporters in New Delhi. Prices have plunged 16 percent this year, leading Venezuela and Algeria to call for OPEC to restrain output.

``The Saudis don't see the need to take any immediate action, which just reinforces the bearish sentiment in the market,'' said Kyle Cooper, director of research at IAF Advisors in Houston. ``If the Saudis don't want OPEC to make further cuts it won't happen.''