Oil Drops Back To The Level It Traded At Before The OPEC Output-cut Deal

Oil prices dropped Thursday to their lowest settlement since Nov. 29, the day before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced a deal to curb production in an effort to balance the market. Prices fell as risks to crude production in Libya, which is not part of the output cut pact, eased following news that two factions made progress toward a resolution of the nation's political crisis that has, at times, disrupted crude production. June WTI crude sank by $2.30, or 4.8%, to settle at $45.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.