Sweet crude has come down, and it’s come down a lot. No one would have ever predicted that it would be down in price over $100 a barrel from where it was in the middle of July. There are several reasons for the decline, however.

The recession is certainly the largest factor, because people are simply using less. They don’t drive as much, they don’t keep their homes as warm, and they are more careful with what they spend money on and how much of it they are spending at all. With that being the case, it’s only natural that sweet crude would come down in price.

A new government report that has come out has also shown a decline in the US inventory of sweet crude, which was unexpected given the lowered demand. The oil-producing nations are having a lot of problems with this, because they keep their economies growing off of the oil that other nations buy from them for a good price. With lower prices and lower demand, the US is not the only nation that is seeing a struggling economy.