Crude oil fell almost $2 to near $50 a barrel in early trading Monday following a similar drop on Friday, as the outlook for world demand remained low, Bloomberg reported.
Benchmark light sweet crude futures fell $1.98 to $50.40 a barrel in electronic pre-market trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said.
Oil fell $1.96 Friday to close at $52.38, after closing on the Nymex Thursday at $54.34 a barrel, up from $40.15 at the beginning of March.
The Energy Department comes out with its weekly survey of diesel and gasoline prices Monday afternoon in Washington.