Standard & Poor’s ( S&P ) outlook change on US credit

Standard & Poor’s ( S&P ) outlook change on US credit - Crude prices fall : Crude oil prices were lower Monday, joining most commodities aside from gold in declines after Standard & Poor’s reiterated its AAA credit rating on the United States but cut its outlook from “stable” to “negative”, citing the inability of the US government to come up with a plan to stabilize the economy.

May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $2.54 to $107.12 per barrel in mid-morning trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the most recent report on Brent crude had it trading down $1.99 to $121.46 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The declines came despite continuing concerns about civil unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, including protests at a funeral in Syria, worries about the outcome of the presidential election in Nigeria, an attack on an army post in Algeria, and an attack on a coastal city in Libya in an attempt to prevent the delivery of aid to anti-government forces there.

Officials of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said that there is an oversupply of oil currently and reiterated its position that the surge in oil prices has been driven by speculations rather than fundamentals and that the cartel is concerned about the current high prices.

Nymex May gasoline futures were down 4 cents to $3.25 per gallon in mid-morning trade, while May heating oil futures were 5 cents lower to $3.18 per gallon and May natural gas futures dropped 6 cents to $4.15 per million British thermal units.

Meanwhile, the retail price of gasoline in the United States was up again overnight, to $3.833 per gallon on average across the nation. For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

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