Oil prices fall eight days before the U.S. arrives at the “fiscal cliff” deadline

26-Dec-12

Benchmark oil for February delivery fell to US$88.5 per barrel on the Nymex. The contract fell US$1.47 Friday, the contract’s lowest point in three weeks. Oil prices fell on Monday, just eight days before the U.S. arrives at the “fiscal cliff” deadline without a budget agreement in place. If no deal is reached by Jan. 1, steep tax increases and government spending cuts will automatically take effect that will jar the U.S. economy and potentially throw it into recession, economists have warned.