Oil Prices Tumble Below $46

New York, NY, April 21, 2009--Oil prices languished near $46 a barrel Tuesday after renewed doubts about the health of U.S. banks sent crude and stock markets tumbling.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 5 cents to $45.93 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

After trading near $50 a barrel so far this month, oil prices plunged $4.45 on Monday to settle at $45.88, following a broad sell-off of stocks.

"Oil is being driven by perceptions about the economy, and there are plenty of obstacles to an international recovery," said David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "It's going to be difficult for the next year."

Moore said he expects crude prices to rise to $58 a barrel by the end of the year as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries moves to reduce production in line with falling demand. OPEC has already announced 4.2 million of output cuts since September.