Brent crude slumped to the lowest level since 2004 amid speculation suppliers from the Middle East to the U.S. will exacerbate a record glut as they continue fighting for market share, Bloomberg reports:
Brent crude slumped to the lowest level since 2004 amid speculation suppliers from the Middle East to the U.S. will exacerbate a record glut as they continue fighting for market share, Bloomberg reports:
«Futures for February settlement slid as much as 71 cents to $36.17 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, the lowest level in intraday trade since July 13, 2004. The contract decreased 18 cents to $36.88 on Friday, the weakest close since December 2008. Prices are down 37 percent this year, set for a third annual loss».
According to Reuters news Chinese shares led Asian markets higher on Monday (December, 21), defying a dive on Wall Street, while the price of Brent crude plumbed 11-year lows on renewed worries over a global oil glut.
China's CSI300 index .CSI300 surged 2.9 percent and the Shanghai Composite .SSEC jumped 2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI rode the Chinese market's coattails to climb 0.4 percent.
"As we head into the final two weeks of the year, the limited year-end liquidity will be something to keep a watch on," Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG in Singapore, wrote in a note.
«European shares are unlikely to follow Asia's example, with spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE and France's CAC40 .FCHI to open down about 0.6 percent, and Germany's DAX .GDAXI to start the day 0.5 percent lower», Reuters added.
«The price of oil has faced further pressure after an Opec meeting three weeks ago, when the cartel of oil producers decided not to cut production. Saudi Arabia is determined to push the oil market to its limits in order to defend its market share, which has come under threat from increased production from Russia, Iran and, more recently, US shale», - The Telegraph commented.
