Oil Below $60

Oil prices are almost in a free-fall with the price per barrell currently trading below $60:

Oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel Monday as commodity investors responded to high inventories and a lack of geopolitical tensions to sell, analysts said.

Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore, said hedge funds and investors were reacting to a lack of bullish news but noted that $60 is still a very strong price and said the market was still vulnerable to price spikes.

Light sweet crude for November delivery fell 60 cents to $59.95 a barrel in midmorning Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices have dropped 23 percent since the middle of July, attributed to ample global inventories, eased worries about supply threats from Iran and Nigeria, receding fears about this year's Atlantic hurricane season and as signs of economic weakness in the U.S. point to a possible softening in demand for energy.

From what I hear, some traders are worried about even lower prices and are therefore dumping their oil on the market to try and sell it before it goes even lower. With excess demand, down go the prices.

From a political standpoint, what do you think it will do to consumer confidence if every time they fill up the prices is a few cents lower? Can't hurt.