NY Oil Price Trades Below $30

The price of crude oil traded in New York closed below $30 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time in 3 months, news services said, as oil continued a sharp selloff linked to expectations that the U.S. faceoff with Iraq would end soon with an easy U.S. victory.

The Reuters news agency said oil prices had fallen by $8 or 21% in a five-day rout, a swift decline after having recently risen to nearly $40.

The Associated Press said April contract prices for light, sweet crude closed down $1.79 lower to $29.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with the May contract at $29.36. In London, May Brent crude futures fell 50 cents to $26.75, AP said.

Fueling the decline, news services said, were reports that U.S. oil imports rose in the latest week, plus expectations that much of the Iraqi military might surrender without a fight.