New York crude briefly drops below $50 per barrel

Crude oil prices in New York trade fell below $50 per barrel for a time Thursday to trade as low as $49.75, their lowest in three and a half years and neared a level $100 lower than July’s record high prices.

January contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $2.99 to $50.63 per barrel at just less than an hour before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while at last report Brent crude for January delivery had dropped $1.39 to $50.33 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The declines came despite more declarations from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that the cartel could cut production further as prices continue to slide.

US Labor Department figures showing that there were 542,000 new unemployment claims filed last week, the most in one week in 16 years, amplified fears that demand for oil and oil products could erode further.

The average retail price for gasoline in the United States, meanwhile, has now dropped below $2 per gallon in 23 of the 50 US states as at-the-pump price for regular unleaded was down another 2.7 cents overnight to $2.02 per gallon on average nationally.

Nymex Decmeber gasoline futures dropped 5 cents in afternoon trade to $1.06 per gallon.