Crude oil tumbled more than $6 a barrel in New York amid concern that a slower U.S. economy will curtail demand.
Prices dropped as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said risks to growth and inflation have risen, in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. He abandoned a June assessment that the threat of an economic slowdown had diminished.
``We're getting to the point where the market's looking at an increasing likelihood of a deep recession,'' said James Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois.
Crude oil for August delivery fell $6.44, or 4.4 percent, to settle at $138.74 a barrel at 2:49 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the biggest percentage drop since March and the biggest dollar decline since Jan. 17, 1991, when futures closed at $21.44 a barrel. Oil fell as much as $9.26 to $135.92 today.
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