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Crude Oil 70.37 Declines on Concern
Debt Crisis to Stall Recovery

By Margot Habiby

May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel in New York as European governments struggled to contain the region’s debt crisis, raising concern that it will slow the global economic recovery.

Futures dropped as much as 2.5 percent as Europe’s equity markets plunged to an eight-month low. European Union finance ministers plan to meet today in Brussels to discuss sovereign debt. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped for a fourth day.

“The worry is that the European economy is going to drag the global economy into another recession,” said Bill O’Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis. “Because 2008 is so fresh in everybody’s mind, everyone I talk to is just petrified.”

Crude oil for July delivery dropped $1.57, or 2.2 percent, to $69.23 a barrel at 9:17 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. time. The July contract has dropped 14 percent since May 10. Prices are down 8.2 percent this week.

Oil prices plummeted almost $115 a barrel between July and December 2008.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2o665e27lW0