World's Energy

10/3/2008 - Oil Marketer by Elaine Frei - Crude oil prices slid slightly Friday as many investors doubted that the US bank bailout plan will keep the US economy from recession. Labor Department data showing that the US economy lost 159,000 jobs in September and Commerce Department numbers revealing that US factory orders were down 4 percent in August, much more of a decline than was expected, added strength to the argument that demand is not going to recover anytime soon. Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down 12 percent this week, dropping 8 cents on the session to $93.89 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while November contracts for Brent crude dropped 64 cents to $89.92 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. In afternoon trade, Nymex November gasoline was down 3 cents to $2.23 per gallon while November heating oil fell 5 cents to $2.66 per gallon and November natural gas dropped 12 cents to $7.36 per million British thermal units