Oil Prices Plunge
By: Mycah Glover/CNNMoney
Updated: May 4, 2012
U.S.-- Crude oil dipped beneath $100 per barrel Friday, falling more than 4% from the previous day, to $98.17.
In turn, gas prices fell more than 6% over the last week, reaching a national average of $3.802 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA.
Brent crude dropped over 3% on Friday to $112.20.
According to CNNMoney, Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service,said the pre-summer run-up in oil and gas prices happened earlier than usual this year, and demand petered out."The bottom line is that the [oil and gasoline] market gets sloppy drunk every spring," he said.
He said the demand that drove prices this spring has run out, attributing several major factors to the recent decline, including a slowdown in Asian demand for crude oil.
He also said conflict with Iran, which had injected anxiety into the markets and driven up prices in recent months, has been notably absent this week. Iran has backed off its threat to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping lane for oil.
