Oil prices drop nearly $2 a barrel

NEW YORK - Oil prices fell to their lowest level in six weeks Tuesday, dropping nearly $2 a barrel after the International Energy Agency forecast slower growth in oil demand this year.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell $1.85 to settle at $51.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Unleaded gasoline futures fell 1.6 cents to close at $1.5338 a gallon. Heating oil futures declined by 2.18 cents to $1.4653 per gallon.