Updated on
Summary OPEC also warned of an economic slowdown among industrial nations.
Oil prices are lower Wednesday on concerns that Italys financial troubles will overwhelm European banks with debts that may be too big to bail out. And OPEC warned of an economic slowdown among industrial nations.Benchmark crude fell 65 cents to $96.15 per barrel in New York, while Brent crude fell $1.19 to $113.81 per barrel in London.Oil prices dropped as Italys key borrowing rate jumped in a sign that the country will continue to struggle to turn its economy around despite the expected departure of its prime minister. Meanwhile the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it expects oil demand to sink in industrialized countries this year, especially in Europe.At the pump in the US, retail gasoline prices rose 1.6 cents to a national average of $3.43 per gallon.
