Crude oil may fall to $20 a barrel

US crude oil prices may fall by half to $20 a barrel by early next year as Saudi Arabia and other producers pump more, easing concern that terrorists might disrupt shipments, a Bear Stearns & Co analyst said.

US oil inventories, which touched a 28-year low of 263.7 million barrels in January, may exceed 340 million by the end of September, “causing oil prices to fall sharply,” analyst Frederick Leuffer said in a note to clients.