Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman, in a speech on behalf of ailing King Abdullah Tuesday, said weak growth was to blame for the price fall, which has sliced deeply into the income of the world's largest exporter. STOCK IMAGE
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in February sank $2.11 to $47.93 a barrel, a low last witnessed in late April 2009.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February dived $2.01 to $51.10 per barrel, the lowest level since early May 2009.
"The market is still worried that there are no signs that the supply glut will start falling," Nordea Markets analyst Thina Margrethe Saltvedt told AFP.
James Williams of WTRG said the weakness in the market could take prices below $40 a barrel.
"Basically, there are continuing concerns about OPEC not cutting back, particularly Saudi Arabia, and US production continuing to grow," he said.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman, in a speech on behalf of ailing King Abdullah Tuesday, said weak growth was to blame for the price fall, which has sliced deeply into the income of the world's largest exporter.
"This development is not new in the oil market, and the kingdom has in the past dealt with it firmly and wisely," he said, adding that Saudi Arabia will maintain its "same approach" towards the market.
That appeared to confirm Riyadh's determination to defend its market share rather than reduce output, even if that pushes prices lower.
On Monday Saudi Arabia reportedly cut its European and US export prices in order to maintain market share.
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@Rex Minor:
May have been somewhat true in the past ... but definitely not true these days. If your statement is true then explain why the USA has defied Saudi wishes on Syria and Iran .. both are obvious examples that indicate that the USA is now making strategic and tactical decisions without Saudi input.
@vaqas: Aye Dude, I was not replying against you I was just adding in concurrence to what you have posted. Although my intent was to induce readers to look deeper into the things which is just being repeated in popular media over & over again.
Technically there is abundance of oil (energy) available on Earth. The hassle is, the ones who are sitting on those locations either does not have money / capacity / will or they does not want to tap it just for the purpose of geopolitics.
Due to their decisions (either to tap or not), we billions will bear the consequences of their decisions either positively or negatively.
In my opinion just like UN have mandated drinking water as an essential human right so should it add the clean energy as well in human right index.
We the billions are tired now for this amalgamation of geoeconmics + geopoltics thingy, we want peace of mind.
regards,
@vaqas: @Asad Khan: The house of Saud does not dance to the tunes of the USA but on the contrary, it is the white house which considers SAUDI interests in their policies. Saudi arabia has not only the largest reserves in the world but more than the reserves of the world. It plans to double its export in the next hich will not only benefit the energy consuming industry but also stop the fracking activities of the USA and others.
Rex Minor
@Asad Khan: I'm not sure what you replied to. I only said that we should bring to the forefront all those who are complaining about the cheap oil. And I realize that cheap oil is not the solution to everything, but it sure has its perks. And I am willing to live with the consequences of that. So are billions of others.
@vaqas:
Saudi Arabia has now chosen the path which suits her interests best. In the past, Saudi had dance according to the tunes of US. Now, the Saudi Arabia sees no added benefit to play along each time with US when she (& other GCC) already giving US a big favour which is using US$ for oil transactions only.
Ironically, the Saudi decision came at a time when Iran & Russia are in a state of flux. So, it is very easy for some folks to conclude that Saudi are punishing these two countries on the whims of US which is not correct.
The most funniest thing is missed by the world population at large & only the the wise few have a clue that despite all this price reductions, the fundamental of US & EU economies can not be fixed, cheap oil is an added benefit but not the solution of ALL of the problems.
regards,
I think the world in general should take notice of those who pressured Saudi Arabia into the defensive and give a statement. No one in the world would complain about the falling oil prices. I would like people to start putting pressure on those who are not happy with the current trend in oil prices to be set on trial. Except for maybe Russia and Iran. But then I would rather have cheaper oil so those two better tighten their seatbelts.