LONDON – Crude oil prices dropped to near $51 a barrel yesterday, the lowest closing price in more than 19 months, after Saudi Arabia's oil minister rejected calls for production cuts, reports Bloomberg News.

Crude oil for February delivery closed at $51.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with futures at one point bottoming out at $50.53 in intraday trading.

Crude oil prices have dropped more than $27 per barrel or about 35 percent, since they peaked at more than $78 per barrel in July 2006.

A big factor in the slide is the mild weather in the U.S. thus far, although that is changing in many parts of the Northeast. The warmer temperatures has reduced demand for home heating fuels.