One Silver Lining: Oil Prices Staying Low

New York, NY, Feb. 18, 2009--Oil prices remained below $35 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as further signs the U.S. recession is deepening spurred investor concern over crude demand.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 45 cents to $34.48 a barrel by midafternoon in Singapore on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Tuesday fell $2.58 to $34.93.

Investors are doubting whether a $787 billion stimulus bill, signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama, will be enough to jolt the U.S. out of its worst recession in decades.

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC asked the government Tuesday for an additional $14 billion in aid. GM presented a survival plan that also calls for cutting a total of 47,000 jobs globally and Chrysler said it will cut 3,000 more jobs.

GM, the world's largest automaker, said it could run out of money by March without new funds.

Japan, the world's second-biggest economy, said Monday its economy shrank 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, the worst performance since 1974.

OPEC has tried to bolster prices by cutting supplies, and the group's leaders have said they may slash output again at a meeting next month. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has announced 4.2 million barrels a day of productions cuts since September.