Crude Oil Dips Below $120 a Barrel

NEW YORK --- Crude oil fell below $120 a barrel for the first time since May, after weather reports suggested that Tropical Storm Edouard will miss most offshore oil facilities as it approaches the coast of Texas, Bloomberg reported. 

Futures fell as much as $5.60 a barrel, despite port closings and rig evacuations in the Gulf, a threat to oil supplies from Iran, and a fire at Valero Energy Corp.'s Houston refinery.

Edouard is headed for Galveston, Texas, the biggest U.S. petroleum port. What's more, Apache Corp. halted 8,600 barrels a day of oil production and 130 million cubic feet a day of natural gas output today as it evacuated 110 workers from offshore platforms in Louisiana because of the storm. But all that wasn't enough to keep crude prices from falling.

Crude oil for September delivery fell $3.92, or 3.1 percent, to $121.18 a barrel at 12:28 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. New York oil futures have dropped more than $26 a barrel from the record $147.27 on July 11 as fuel demand has diminished.