Oil prices closed below $75 a barrel for the first time in nearly 14 months Wednesday after OPEC, fearing that a severe global economic slowdown is unavoidable, slashed its 2009 petroleum demand forecast. Another bad day on Wall Street also pressured oil prices, which have tumbled a staggering 49 percent since soaring to an all-time high $147.27 on July 11. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 733 points. Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $4.09, or 5.2 percent, to settle at $74.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was crude's lowest settlement prices since Aug. 31, 2007. In London, November Brent crude fell $3.73 to settle at $70.80 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. OPEC said rich nations in 2009 are expected to need only 400,000 barrels a day more oil than this year, whereas demand from developing countries will increase by an estimated 1.1 million barrels, with most of that growth coming from China, the Middle East and India. OPEC is scheduled to hold a special meeting to discuss ways to deal with oil's slide.
