Oil prices reached a 14-month low yesterday, causing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to move up its emergency meeting by a month to Oct. 24, the Associated Press reported.

The price of oil is about half its record of $147.27 per barrel reached on July 11. Light, sweet crude for November delivery dropped overnight by $4.69 to settle at $69.85 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It’s the lowest price since Aug. 23, 2007. December Brent crude was up 38 cents to $68.22 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The decline was fueled by an increase in fuel stocks and waning demand.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report yesterday that crude stocks rose by 5.6 million barrels last week, far above analysts’ estimates of a 3.1 million barrel increase. Gasoline stocks rose by 7 million barrels last week, more than double what analysts had forecast. U.S. energy supplies have grown as the Gulf Coast recovers after shutdowns caused by hurricanes.

Meanwhile, demand for gasoline was down 5.2 percent for the four weeks ended Oct. 10 compared with the year-ago period. It was averaging nearly 8.8 million barrels a day, according to the EIA.

OPEC is expected to cut output by about 1 million barrels a day to maintain an ideal price of $70 to $90 per barrel.