Oil prices plunge. Why they will go even lower.
Oil prices plunged more than $3 a barrel yesterday, and many analysts think oil prices may have farther to fall. The impact of super-low oil prices on the economy, however, remains unclear.
An oil pump works at sunset in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Oil prices suffered their biggest drop in nearly two years after the International Energy Agency reduced its forecast for demand for this year and next.
Hasan Jamali/AP/File
"I'm expecting oil prices will dip below $80 and in very short order," said top energy consultant Andy Lipow, of Lipow Oil Associates on CNBC's "Street Signs."
"If it can't hold $81, I think there's $10 to the downside," added CNBC contributor John Kilduff, founding partner with Again Capital on CNBC's "Closing Bell."
Both pros shared a sentiment that was expressed by many other energy investors on CNBC; that is, the price of oil likely has farther to fall.
Speculation about where crude might stabilize quickly became a hot topic after oil prices plunged more than $3 a barrel during Tuesday's session; the decline was the biggest percentage drop since November 2012.
Chatter on Wall Street suggested the weakness was due to an International Energy Agency forecast, which called for lower demand.
Adding to the bearish tone on Tuesday, a source familiar with oil policy in Iran, normally one of the first in OPEC to call for production cuts, followed Kuwait in saying there was no need to rein in supplies.
Yet pros on CNBC said the decline also had everything to do with the abundance of new discoveries found in North America.
"In our country we're undergoing an energy revolution. We're finding more oil and producing more oil hence prices are falling," added Skip Aylesworth of Hennessy Funds also on "Street Signs."
Given the confluence of events, all the pros believe the path of least resistance remains lower.
The impact on the economy, however, remains unclear.
Some pros, such as CNBC's Jim Cramer believe lower oil is largely a positive, because it leads to lower prices at the pump, and that ultimately benefits consumers. However, other pros such as Fast Money trader Guy Adami view lower oil negatively; they see it as a referendum on slower global growth.