The low price of crude oil is starting to eat away at the revenue stream for U.S. states that depend heavily on the energy sector, Fitch Ratings said. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil prices, closed Tuesday at $46.66 per barrel, down about 45 percent from one year ago. That’s forced energy companies to cut staff and spending on exploration and production in an effort to navigate the downturn. Fitch Ratings said that, as crude oil prices struggle to break the psychological threshold of $50, revenue streams are drying up for states that depend heavily on oil. “Stagnant commodity price trends are dampening energy states’ economic growth and are eating into economically sensitive revenue sources such […]