Bloomberg: Crude oil will collapse to $20 a barrel this year as the recession takes a deeper toll on fuel demand, according to academic and former U.S. government adviser Philip Verleger.

A crude surplus of 100 million barrels* will accumulate by the end of the year , straining global storage capacity and sending prices to a seven-year low, said Verleger, who correctly predicted in 2007 that prices were set to exceed $100. Supply is outpacing demand by about 1 million barrels a day, he said. Story.

Verleger, The Kudlow Report, July 8:


* The world crude oil consumption is about 85mm barrels per day.