Oil continued its downward march Thursday as mass layoffs pushed the U.S. economy deeper into recession, signaling a drastic pullback on energy spending, according to The Associated Press.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery, fell $1.07 to $43.54 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The January contract, which closes on Friday, fell $1.42 to $38.64 after dropping as low as $37.68, levels last seen in the summer of 2004.