General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) fell to the lowest since its initial public offering in November as rising oil prices dimmed the outlook for truck sales after the largest U.S. automaker’s most profitable year since 1999.

GM slid $1.84, or 5.3 percent, to $32.75 at 2:30 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The intraday drop marked the first day GM traded at less than its $33 initial offering price.

Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson is speeding the development and introduction of new models, including more fuel- efficient cars that may sell better as gas prices rise. GM used larger discounts and sales incentives in January and February to lure buyers before vehicle introductions pick up in 2012.

“The worst-case scenario is that GM uses pricing to get them through this gap in new product they’re in, and then you combine that with oil spiking,” Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at BNY ConvergEx Group in New York, said in a telephone interview.

Crude oil for April delivery reached $103.41 today (Thursday), the highest intraday price since Sept. 29, 2008, on concerns an uprising in Libya may reduce supply.





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