Oil drops 6 percent to below $88 on demand concerns (Reuters)

Monday October 6, 2:43 pm ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil dropped $6 to below $88 a barrel on Monday on expectations the growing financial crisis will further slow already faltering global fuel demand. U.S. crude traded down $6.00, to $87.80 a barrel, at 2:30 p.m. EDT after hitting a fresh eight-month low of $87.56. London Brent crude fell $6.45 to $83.80 a barrel. Crude prices have plummeted from a peak over $147 a barrel set on July 11 as high fuel prices and the growing financial crisis slow oil demand in top consumer the United States and other industrialized nations. "The prevailing macro sentiment is now crystallizing around the notion that we are heading into a synchronized global slowdown, a mirror image of the across-the-board expansion we saw from 2004 to early 2007," said Edward Meir of broker MF Global. Analysts are... [read full story]