For the first time in four years, U.S. oil prices fell below $80 a barrel while U.S. production jumped to its highest mark in decades.

Crude dropped to $75 barrel on Thursday, showing further evidence of a slowdown in China's economy.

Brent crude, the global benchmark which has fallen more than 30 percent since June, dipped to $2.46 or 3.1 percent, settling at $77.92 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Meanwhile U.S. oil futures settled down $2.97 or 3.85 percent at $74.21.

"Energy prices continue to be a headwind," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York, according to Reuters.

In addition, the Energy Information Administration announced that U.S. oil production soared above 9 million barrels a day last week, reports Fox Business News.

"If you asked if this were possible 10 years ago, people would have said you were crazy," said Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago, to the New York Times. "The market's starting to believe that [the U.S. is] on tap to be the world's largest producer."

Last year in Russia, 10.1 million barrels of were produced a day of crude, according to the EIA, while Saudi Arabia's output averaged 9.7 million barrels a day.

As a result, American consumers will reap the benefits in the upcoming weeks, thanks in large part to Saudi Arabia.

"If oil prices stay between $75 and $95 a barrel, we would see the kind of stimulus package that the Federal Reserve or Congress could never do," said Douglas R. Oberhelman, the chief executive of Caterpillar, the multinational maker of heavy construction equipment.

"When oil prices fall, the benefit to consumers outweighs the loss to producers," said Dean Maki, chief United States economist at Barclays. "Investment in oil and gas production is still less than 1 percent of gross domestic product. Consumer spending is 68.5 percent of G.D.P."