What's behind dropping oil prices?

Markets down again as oil prices fall

It was a wild ride on Wall Street on Wednesday.

The Dow plunged more than 500 points, but recovered nearly half of that, closing with a loss of 249. Falling oil prices have investors rattled.

The pros and cons of low oil prices

Mellody Hobson, CBS News Financial Contributor, says the real story behind the dropping oil prices is China.

"Oil is basically getting hit by China's shrapnel," Hobson said of oil closing at $26.55 a barrel.

In the video above, Hobson also addressed the Dow's over eight percent drop since the beginning of the year, saying the average investor hasn't lost as much as some headlines are suggesting.

"The typical person has lost about $6,000 this year. That sounds a lot better than a trillion."

f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.