Oil Prices Are Falling Again

Oil is still falling this morning, after WTI crude went below $50 a barrel for the first time since May 2009 yesterday. 

At 9.10 am GMT (4.10 am ET), Brent was trading at $52.22 a barrel, down 1.69%. That's up very marginally from the $52.10 it traded for earlier, another five and a half-year low.

At 9.15am GMT (4.15 am ET) WTI crude was being sold at $49.36 per barrel, down another $0.68 from its previous price. Crude oil's per barrel price is down by almost $10 in the last two weeks, following December's falls. Here's how that looks in context:

Here is the chart for Brent today, the international benchmark for oil markets:

And this is West Texas Intermediate Crude:

"Falls in oil prices are going beyond many people's expectations. This will put pressure on the earning of US energy firms," said Hirokazu Kabeya, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, told Reuters.