Oil falls sharply as economic gloom spreads

The darkening gloom that hangs over the U.S. economy spread to the oil markets Tuesday, sending the cost of crude tumbling $6.44 a barrel in the largest one-day plunge since 1991.

In a wild day of trading, the cost of light, sweet crude oil for August delivery closed at $138.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

LATimes