Oil prices near 11-year low
USA
NEW YORK, December 14, 2015 – Crude oil futures fell in early trade in Asian markets, continuing a Friday slump down to barely a dollar above a 2004 financial crisis low point of $36.20. The International Energy Agency, or IEA, released a forecast on Friday that the global oil glut will worsen next year due to slowing demand and increased output from OPEC members.
Brent crude fell $0.18 to $37.75, dipping below $38 per barrel for the first time since December 2008. West Texas Intermediate dropped to $35.47, down $0.15. Cumulative price losses last week were 11%, fuelling worries that West Texas Intermediate may also near its December 2008 low of $30.28.
Friday’s IEA report predicts demand to slow to a 1.2 million barrels of oil per day in 2016. Production, on the other hand, has not slowed down, with OPEC nations pumping 31.7 million barrels of oil per day in November, reaching a seven-year high.
Oil prices have recorded a fall every day since the OPEC meeting on December 4, when the group declined to enforce an output cap to address the global oil glut. OPEC’s output is near record levels as the group tries to drive high-cost producers such as US shale operators out of the market.
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