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Article: Energy prices slump after Labor Department report
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- August 11, 2009
- Author:
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Energy prices slumped Tuesday on a Labor Department report that suggested consumer spending, a major economic driver, may be depressed for some time as companies cut back.
Benchmark crude for September delivery fell $1.15 to settle at $69.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the fourth straight day of declines and the first time this month that the price for crude dipped below $69.
The national average for retail gas fell for the first time in three weeks, and the Energy Information Administration in its short-term energy outlook said gas prices will average around $2.34 per gallon in 2009.
Oil prices have ended the week higher for five straight ...