February 07-2014
KER-THUNK — The price of an OPEC barrel fell almost $2 Monday, a dramatic but far from unprecedented drop. The price is now back where it was three months ago, as shown on the left side of the above chart. But notice what happened next—the price rose $7 in just a few weeks. So the latest rapid fall may mean little. On the other hand, the prices of most commodities have turned soft this year, so the drop could herald a general decline.