Falling Oil Prices This Week

Oil prices fell to less than $122 a barrel this week, extending the decline of expectations that 2008’s rising energy costs are undercutting the demand for gasoline in the United States. The recent gradual strengthening of the U. S. dollar against the euro and the Japanese yen is also keeping bulk oil prices lower–investors tend to buy commodities when the dollar softens, selling when U. S. currency becomes healthier again.

Crude oil futures have declined significantly in the past three weeks. Prices remain about 60 percent higher than they were at this time last year.