Caught between dismal U.S. economic numbers and news of possible further OPEC cuts, oil prices hovered today near their previous close below $42 a barrel, The Associated Press reported. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 44 cents to $41.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices spiked briefly in the morning after the Commerce Department reported that while the economy contracted more than it has in a quarter century, it didn't shrink as much as expected. The report, which tallies gross domestic product, showed the economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace at the end of 2008. It also showed the economy sinking at a much faster clip in the October-December period than the 0.5 percent decline logged in prior quarter.
