Shares of major oil companies tumble as crude prices decline with slumping consumer demand
By APMonday, August 17, 2009
Shares of oil majors tumble with crude prices
NEW YORK — Shares of major oil companies fell sharply on Monday, as crude oil prices tumbled amid new reports that signaled continued consumer spending restraint.
Benchmark crude for September delivery at one point fell as much as 3 percent to $65.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
On Friday, prices tumbled on a sharp drop in the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, a bad sign for crude and gasoline demand, which had already been sluggish this summer.
This news comes just a few weeks after the sector reported steep declines in second-quarter profits as oil companies faced crippled demand for energy products and dramatically lower crude prices. The compounded negative news sent shares falling in afternoon trading.
Shares of Exxon Mobil, the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company, fell $1.39, or 2 percent in afternoon trading. ConocoPhillips shares dropped $1.34, or 3.1 percent, to $42.43. BP PLC, Europe’s second largest oil company, saw its shares slide $1.24, to 2.5 percent, to $49.19. Shares of Europe’s third-largest oil producer Total SA tumbled $1.63, or 3 percent, to $52.75.
