Crude Oil Prices Fall Sharply Amid OPEC Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - Following the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, the price of crude oil showed a substantial move to the downside during trading on Friday.

Crude oil for December delivery plunged $1.90 to $46.06 a barrel after dipping $0.07 to $47.96 a barrel on Wednesday.

The steep drop by the price of crude oil reflected uncertainty about whether the members of OPEC will be able to agree on a cut in production at a meeting next week.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing that the trade deficit in goods widened much more than expected in October.

The report said the goods deficit widened to $62.0 billion in October from $56.5 billion in September. The deficit had been expected to widen to $59.7 billion.

The wider deficit came as the value of imports climbed by 1.1 percent to $184.1 billion and the value of exports fell by 2.7 percent to $122.1 billion.