WTI falls back below $80 per barrel

November contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $2.32 to $78.87 per barrel at the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday, while Brent crude for November delivery was down $2.80 to $74.66 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

WTI was as high as $84.38 per barrel earlier in the session, but declines came on concerns that initiatives to rescue US banks will not be enough to restore demand and after New York equities markets slipped back into declines after an early rally.

At last report, Nymex November gasoline futures were down 3 cents to $1.88 per gallon while Nymex December heating oil had fallen 8 cents to $2.29 per gallon and January natural gas had dropped a cent to $7.32 per million British thermal units.

At-the-pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline in the United States continued to decline, dropping another 4.3 cents overnight to $3.163 per gallon on average nationally.