Oil prices closed at a new 14-month low beneath $70 a barrel Thursday, bringing its price to less than half its July record high after the government reported massive increases in US crude and gasoline stockpiles. Investors took the news as more evidence that a global credit crisis and a shaky economy are curbing demand for oil. The selloff in crude came despite an announcement by OPEC on Thursday that it was moving up by almost a month an emergency meeting to discuss oil's rapid drop in value, including whether or not a production cut is needed. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will now meet Oct. 24 at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, instead of Nov. 18. Oil market traders ignored the statement, convinced that prices are headed lower. Light, sweet crude for November delivery dropped $4.69, or 6.2 percent, to settle at $69.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement prices since Aug. 23, 2007. Earlier prices dipped to $68.57, a level not seen since June 27, 2007. Crude has now fallen 52.5 percent since surging to a record $147.27 on July 11. Some energy analysts have predicted oil could fall as low as $50. In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 10.62 cents to settle at $2.1108 a gallon, while gasoline futures lost 16.02 cents to settle at $1.622 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell 7.9 cents to settle at $7.215 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, November Brent crude fell $4.48 to settle at $66.32 a barrel on the Ice Futures exchange. Declines accelerated after the US Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report crude stocks rose 5.6 million barrels last week, well above the 3.1 million barrel increase expected by analysts.
