Money | oil prices Oil Slips Below $35 a Barrel Prices drop almost 8%; stocks down early on Wall Street By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Feb 17, 2009 11:47 AM CST Copied A customer pumps gas at a gas station in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) A new batch of lousy economic news dragged oil prices down nearly 8% today as signs from across the globe pointed to a prolonged and painful recession. Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $2.87 to $34.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after settling at $37.51 on Friday. Nymex was closed yesterday. Energy analysts said broader market concerns continue to weigh heavily on crude prices, even as President Obama prepared to sign into law the $787 billion stimulus package today. "The market doesn't seem to think that this plan is going to solve the economic problems in the short term," noted one. Read These Next A name is released in the shooting at a Dallas ICE facility. Trump claims Jimmy Kimmel's return might be illegal. Kremlin pushes back against Trump's 'paper tiger' taunt. He runs like a refrigerator. So why is he so good? Get breaking news in your inbox. What you need to know, as soon as we know it. Sign up Report an error