Oil Prices Slide, May Mean Even Lower Gas Prices (For Now)

There's bad news for oil traders, good news for consumers. The price of oil took another tumble today, falling below $92 a barrel at one point on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Concerns about the Greek bailout and resulting European debt crisis continues to drag crude oil prices down. The price slide comes at a good time for consumers, since gasoline prices have also been falling for more than six weeks.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.646 a gallon, down nearly six cents a gallon in the last seven days, according to AAA. Many analysts have predicted for weeks that oil prices would drop below $90 a barrel, based on market fundamentals. Should that happen – and prices are very near the $90 threshold now – gasoline prices would likely fall further.

Crude oil for July delivery hit its lowest point today since February 22. That's down from a 2011 high of $113.93, set on April 29.

Speculators have been cashing out since early June, when the latest employment report showed much lower than expected job creation. Because of that, some analysts have revised downward their expectations for economic growth in the months ahead. Slower growth would mean less demand for oil.

The Wall Street Journal quotes Peter Beutel, president of oil-trading advisor Cameron Hanover, as saying technical indicators suggest an oil price drop to as low as $85 a barrel is "all the more likely," after recent price declines.

A European Union plan for a Greek bailout appeared to fall through over the weekend, disappointing European markets. The news put a damper on oil as well. Brent crude, used mostly in Europe, remains at a higher price that West Texas oil, but is well off its recent highs.