Crude falls to close below USD130 - biggest three day decline ever

(MarketWatch/AP) -- Crude-oil futures fell for a third straight day on Thursday, ending below $130 a barrel for the first time since June 5, as worries continued that slower economic growth will curb oil demand. After rising $2.15 to an intraday high of $136.75 in early morning trading, crude for August delivery closed down $5.31, or 3.9%, at $129.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude has lost $15.89, or 11%, in the last three days. Thats it's biggest three day decline ever.

Oil is now more than 10 percent cheaper per barrel than it was on Monday; natural gas prices are down more than 20 percent just since the Fourth of July.

Natural gas futures for August delivery fell more than 8 percent Thursday, marking their biggest one-day drop in nearly a year, according to Nathan Golz, researcher at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis. Prices for the key heating, cooking and power generation fuel settled 86.1 cents lower at $10.537, their lowest point since April.