Crude oil futures tumble
published: Tuesday | April 19, 2005

Finance ministers pose for a group portrait before the Spring 2005 Ministerial Meeting in Washington, April 16. Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven economic powers met Saturday to discuss two of the global economic concerns over which they have least control -- high oil prices and China's fixed currency peg. Pictured are (from left) Alexei Kudrin of Russia, Thierry Breton of France, Ralph Goodale of Canada, Sadakazu Tanigaki of Japan, Gordon Brown of the UK, John Snow of the United States, Hans Eichel of Germany and Domenico Siniscalco of Italy. - REUTERS

NEW YORK (AP):

CRUDE FUTURES slid into negative territory yesterday afternoon, as early gains evaporated amid worries about tumbling United States equities and world economic growth.

Trading was volatile ahead of the front-month May crude futures contract's expiration on Wednesday.

The May contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied earlier from an overnight low of US$49.66 a barrel as gasolene futures soared on reports of refinery glitches.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 12 cents to US$50.37 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where prices traded as high as US$51.24 and as low as US$49.66. Prices declined more than five per cent last week, just days after hitting an all-time intraday high above US$58 on April 4.

Gasolene futures, meanwhile, gave back most of their early gains as a news report confirming a fire at the small, independent refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas, prompted traders to take profits in a buy-the- rumor, sell-the-fact maneuver.