Price of crude oil drops to $64 per barrel

Crude oil prices fell Monday on worries that demand will remain weak for an extended period of time as more evidence accumulated that the economy is not recovering as well or as quickly as had been hoped.

Among data worrying analysts and investors is last week’s US jobs report, which showed that more jobs were lost than expected in June.

In addition, the US dollar was stronger, making oil more expensive to buyers using other currencies to make their purchases.

August contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $2.68 to $64.05 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exhchange after going as low as $63.40 per barrel earlier in the session, while Brent crude was down $1.21 to $65.40 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex August gasoline futures fell 5 cents to $1.74 per gallon while August heating oil was down 8 cents to $1.63 per gallon and August natural gas dropped 13 cents to $3.49 per million British thermal units.