Oil prices post a big 1-day drop

NEW YORK - Oil on Thursday posted its biggest one-day price drop in three months as investors worried about another recession.

Crude prices tumbled nearly 6 percent, outpacing a broad sell-off on Wall Street, where major indexes were each down more than 4 percent.

While the decline on Wall Street was bad news for investors, the drop in oil should be good news for motorists. If oil holds at these lower levels, it could be felt within days at gas pumps across America.

Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at Oil Price Information Service, said the recent slide in oil could cut 20 to 35 cents from a gallon of regular-grade gasoline over the next month. The national average is currently $3.703 per gallon.

"You could see some sizable declines at the pump," Rozell said.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery fell $5.30, or 5.8 percent, to settle at $86.63 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the steepest drop since May 5.