The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor with an oil storage facility behind it, Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in New York. Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday on deepening fears about Japan’s economy after its nuclear crisis worsened following a devastating earthquake and tsunami.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)NEW YORK (AP) – Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday on deepening fears about Japan’s economy after its nuclear crisis worsened following a devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Potentially dangerous levels of radiation have been reported leaking from a crippled nuclear complex in the disaster area. More than 10,000 people are thought to have died after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on Friday.
Investors worried about diminished demand for oil and other products in Japan, the world’s third-largest oil importer. However, Wall Street analysts expect that Japan will eventually increase imports of oil, coal and natural gas.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Tuesday that it will send liquefied natural gas and fuel oil to Japan to help meet power shortages. Japan produces about 28 percent of its energy from coal-fired power plants, but can also run some generators on LNG and even crude oil. Fifty-four nuclear reactors provide about 25 percent of the country’s power. Four of those reactors are in the nuclear plant that leaked radiation.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery dropped $2.73, or 2.7 percent, to $98.46 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dipping below $97 a barrel earlier in the day.