Oil prices fall below $78 a barrel

Mirroring declines in stock markets worldwide, New York oil futures fell nearly $9 to dip below $78 a barrel Friday for the first time in 13 months, raising the prospect of $60 oil by year`s end.

The unrelenting declines in stock values, combined with increasingly bleak economic news, has oil traders backpedaling. The cost of light, sweet crude for November delivery closed down $8.83, or 10%, to $77.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil was last this cheap on Sept. 11, 2007, when it hit $76.92 a barrel. Oil peaked above $147 in July.Courtesy:Los Angeles Times

Source: PETROLEUM BAZAAR