Oil falls after touching $50 a barrel

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Oil falls after touching $50 a barrel
« Thread Started on Dec 16, 2008, 1:41am »

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Oil falls after touching $50 a barrel
Posted: 04:24 PM ET
By Kenneth Musante
CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Oil prices retreated after briefly topping $50 a barrel Monday as concerns about the economy overshadowed a possible production cut from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

U.S. crude for January delivery fell $1.77 to settle at $44.51 a barrel. It touched a high of $50.05 earlier in the session. The January contract expires at the end of this week.

“This is just a tug-of-war between OPEC bulls and economic bears,” said Jim Williams, energy economist with WTRG Economics in Arkansas.

Reports indicate that ministers from OPEC, a trade organization that produces about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will call for a production cut at its meeting in Algeria on Wednesday.