Crude oil drops below $54 a barrel

WASHINGTON - Crude oil slipped below $54 a barrel Wednesday as stock markets across the globe fell and yet another U.S. government report illustrated the disarray in the housing market.

U.S. motorists, stung by job losses and falling home prices, left the roadways in droves, logging almost 11 billion fewer miles in September than in the same month in 2007, according to the Transportation Department.

Governments, businesses and consumers have slashed energy expenditures, helping send the price of crude skidding over the last 4 months.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 77 cents to $53.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down more than 60 percent since topping out at $144 in July.

Global forces drove falling crude prices Wednesday, said Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service, with investors selling off in a "herd mentality," much as they crowded into the market over the summer.

Wednesday, the Transportation Department reported that Americans drove 90 billion fewer miles over the most recent 11 months of the fiscal year.

That means $3 billion less was collected for bridge and transit projects between October 2007 and September 2008, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said.

For October, energy prices fell by a record 8.6 percent, led by a 14.2 percent drop in gasoline prices, also a record. With no definitive signs that the economy is stabilizing, industry analysts expect energy prices will continue to fall.

The nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline is now $2.047, down nearly 88 cents in the last month, according to www.fuelgauge report.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS