Page added on May 21, 2010
Oil prices are back in the $70 range in trading on Friday as investor concern a financial crisis in Europe could undermine the any recovery which hit global stock markets.
US Light crude oil futures for July delivery was down 50 cents to $70.30 a barrel at midday Friday Singapore time on the NYMEX, while in London, Brent crude oil futures for July was down 52 cents to $71.32 on the ICE Futures Exchange.
Stock markets in Asia fell sharply in early trading today after continuing stock market declines on Wall Street and in Europe.
Fears that the fragile economic recovery in the US might be threatened by the financial and political crisis in Europe gripped Wall Street on Thursday, sending the stock market into a sharp decline and leaving anxious traders wondering where the pain might stop.
The 376 point Dow Jones drop on Thursday punctuated what amounts to a slow motion crash that began in late April. The Dow has now plunged more than 1,000 points in a matter of weeks, marking what is known as a market correction.
As traders downgraded their forecasts for economic growth, the price of oil fell roughly eight percent in intraday trading, before recovering to end nearly 2 percent lower.