Oil prices fell sharply to below $100 a barrel today after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, triggering knee-jerk sell-offs across financial markets. The magnitude 8.9 earthquake occurred just off Japan’s northeastern coast in the afternoon there, unleashing a 23-foot tsunami, killing at least 200 to 300 people in the city of Sendai alone. Regions as far as Hawaii and Alaska were bracing for damaging waves to hit their own coasts. Fires triggered by the quake were burning out of control up and down Japan’s coast, including one at an oil refinery. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was down $2.82 to $99.88 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.68 to $102.70 on Thursday.
Oil sinks below $100 after massive Japan quake
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