NEW YORK, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Crude-oil futures dropped for a third consecutive day on Friday and closed below 93 dollars a barrel on worries that the U.S. economy is sliding into recession.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell 1.02 dollars to settle at 92.69 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell 1.96 dollars a barrel on Thursday after several big retail chains said holiday sales in the United States were weaker than expected, raising new worries about consumer spending.
Crude prices ended the week 5.22 dollars a barrel lower, and are 7.4 percent below their record trading price of 100.09 dollars set last week.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said on Thursday the chance of a U.S. recession was more than 50 percent, adding to a chorus of comments from economists and analysts anticipating negative growth in the fallout of a housing crisis and credit crunch.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell 1.02 dollars to settle at 92.69 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell 1.96 dollars a barrel on Thursday after several big retail chains said holiday sales in the United States were weaker than expected, raising new worries about consumer spending.
Crude prices ended the week 5.22 dollars a barrel lower, and are 7.4 percent below their record trading price of 100.09 dollars set last week.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said on Thursday the chance of a U.S. recession was more than 50 percent, adding to a chorus of comments from economists and analysts anticipating negative growth in the fallout of a housing crisis and credit crunch.
