CRANK UP TAXES AND YOU CAN REALLY DRIVE IT DOWN:

Oil prices drop under $64 on demand concern (AP , 10/04/05)

Oil prices fell Tuesday for the third straight session amid signs of weakening demand and the prospect President George W. Bush's administration will tap the nation's heating oil emergency reserve.

U.S. oil consumption has weakened significantly in recent weeks amid high pump prices produced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in late August, with many drivers switching to mass transit among taking other measures.

"The demand losses that have happened vastly exceed the seasonal decline," said Kyle Cooper, an analyst with Citigroup in Houston.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for November ended $1.57 lower at $63.90 after dropping as low as $63.00 earlier.

Gasoline futures fell 4.65 cents to close at $2.0157 a gallon, while heating oil futures fell 3.12 cents to $2.0497 per gallon.