Oil Prices Continue Downward Trend, Nearing $40

New York, NY, Dec. 5, 2008--Oil prices continued to fall below $44 a barrel Friday in Asia as more bad U.S. economic news soured the outlook for global growth and demand for crude.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 26 cents to $43.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract fell overnight $3.12 to settle at $43.67, the lowest since January 2005.

Oil prices have fallen about 70 percent since peaking at $147.27 in July.

Dismal economic data continued Thursday in the U.S., pointing toward a sharp contraction of gross domestic product in the fourth quarter and weakening demand for crude products, such as gasoline.