Oil Futures Continue to Fall

Oil futures prices continued falling in volatile trading today, dropping below $20 a barrel for the first time since 1979.

At noon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark U.S. grade, was selling at $19.85 for delivery in February, down $1.42 from Monday’s close of $21.27. Overabundance of supply, weak demand and market factors have all contributed to the decline, analysts said.