Oil Falls $4 Following Consumer Spending Report
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Oil prices are tumbling, hovering around $120 barrel today after a weak American consumer spending report triggered another big sell-off.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery is down $4.60 at $120.50 a barrel in late morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The plunge in oil is lifting stocks out of an early slump. The Dow Jones industrials, down more than 100 points earlier, are down only about 10.
Another dose of disappointing data fed investors’ beliefs that an American economic slowdown is forcing Americans to cut back on energy use. The Commerce Department says consumer spending fell in June as shoppers dealt with higher prices for gasoline, food and other items.
Also weighing on prices are expectations that Tropical Storm Edouard would not threaten oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico.
