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 North Carolina shooting suspect once walked the red carpet. The gunman who killed 4 at a Michigan church was an ex-marine. 'We heard a big bang,' says churchgoer in Michigan Multiple people have been shot at a Mormon church in Michigan. Get breaking news in your inbox. What you need to know, as soon as we know it. Sign up Report an error