Oil prices hit new low; expected to continue falling

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices dropped below 52 a barrel to new 19-month lows Tuesday on a report that OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia said further production cuts aren't necessary right now.
Crude oil has fallen more than 16 percent this year in a sell-off triggered by a historically warm winter in the Northern United States and sustained by large funds taking short positions in the market, or bets that prices will fall.
Some market participants believe that another production cut by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could halt the price drop, but until that happens, there's little to stop prices from sliding further.
Light sweet crude futures for February fell 1.59 to settle at 51.21 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting a low of 50.53 in earlier trading. Tuesday's settlement price was the lowest since May 26, 2005, when crude closed at 51.01.
Nymex heating oil slid 2.33 cents to settle at 1.4803 per gallon; and natural gas futures inched up 3.7 cents to settle at 6.638 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The U.S. retail price of gasoline has fallen 4.5 percent in 2007 to an average of 2.229 a gallon, according to AAA. As of Tuesday, more than half of U.S. states were seeing average pump prices of less than 2 a gallon.