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Oil dips under $30; gas futures fall By DAVE CARPENTER The Associated Press Crude oil prices slipped back below $30 a barrel Monday for the first time in over a month, falling 5 percent on rising expectations that OPEC will increase production next week. Gasoline futures took a similar tumble, providing a glimmer of hope on the horizon for consumers hard-hit by higher prices at the pump this year. In other markets, soybean, corn and wheat prices all swooned after weekend rains in the Midwest reduced worries about prospects for a crop-wrecking drought this spring and summer. Increasing evidence that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will move to hike output when it convenes in Vienna, Austria, next Monday sent bullish investors fleeing from the crude oil market. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery slipped $1.48 to $29.43 a barrel, its first time under the $30 mark since Feb. 14. Venezuela's oil minister, Ali Rodriguez, after visiting Iran, hinted that the timing and amount of an output hike are what remain to be decided, not the increase itself. Rodriguez is under pressure from Washington: President Clinton urged Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez over the weekend to ensure more oil is produced. "The market's saying, 'Well, it's been a great run but now OPEC says it's going to raise production,"' said Bill O'Grady, energy analyst for A.G. Edwards & Sons. "I think the people in the market who have been long (betting on higher prices) are saying 'I just want to go on the sidelines' in front of this meeting," he said. The April crude contract expires after today's trading session, which may also have put pressure on prices as funds and investors scrambled to liquidate their positions. Analysts said it's no sure thing the price won't rise again before OPEC oil flows in greater quantity. April gasoline fell 4.44 cents to 88.99 cents a gallon. In other energy commodities, April heating oil fell 3.64 cents to 68.08 cents a gallon and April natural gas fell 7.1 cents to $2.714 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, May Brent crude from the North Sea fell $1.35 to $25.21 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange. May soybeans fell 11 cents to $5.25 a bushel, May corn fell 5 cents to $2.35 a bushel; May wheat fell 6 cents to $2.66 a bushel; May oats fell cent to $1.21 a bushel. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA