Oil headed for $25 a barrel, gas for under $1?

Fox News:

Crude oil prices may crash below $25 a barrel next year and gas prices could fall below $1 a gallon if the global recession spreads to China, an energy analyst and CEO said Thursday.

Demand for oil will continue to decline in 2009 as economic growth slows to its weakest level since 1982, Merrill Lynch Commodity Strategist Francisco Blanch concluded in a report.

"A temporary drop below $25 a barrel is possible if the global recession extends to China and significant non-OPEC cuts are required," Blanch was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. "In the short-run, global oil demand growth will likely take a further beating as banks continue to cut credit to consumers and corporations."

In October, when oil was trading for around $100 a barrel, Merrill predicted prices could drop to $50. Oil fell Friday to $43.64 a barrel in electronic trading.

The last time crude fell below $25 a barrel was November 2002.

Meanwhile, Gulf Oil CEO Joe Petrowski said on Wednesday that the price of oil could sink even lower — to $20 a barrel — and gasoline prices could drop as low as $1 a gallon by early next year.

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I think I bought my big truck at the right time. The high gas prices earlier in the year had depressed prices on bigger trucks.

There is some bad news in this decline for not only those in the oil business. The Democrats are likely to take advantage of the decline to increase fuel taxes. they will also go back to limiting and strangling production. Republicans should continue to fight on this issue so that Democrats cannot make us more vulnerable to producers like Chavez.