OPEC Oil Set To Flow At Record Rates

By abandoning output restraint, analysts said the group was sending a message to other producers such as Russian Federation and North American shale drillers that it was willing to accept low oil prices to defend market share. This has prompted us to revise downward our pricing forecasts for Freeport-McMoRan’s Oil and Gas division, and consequently, our price estimate for the company’s stock.

“Crude oil were no doubt compressed by the lack of an agreement at the OPEC, signalling that the supply glut will persist longer”, Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore. Gasoline and diesel also closed at the lowest levels since the financial crisis of 2008 that sent the country into a recession.

WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil futures contracts for January delivery fell by 4.7% and closed at $39.97 per barrel during the first week of December 2015.

In the run-up to the OPEC decision, oil derivatives showed investors had, unusually, been willing to pay more to protect against a surprise rally in the price, than a surprise fall.

And with higher demand for the fuel, he’s looking for the U.S.to consume an additional 250,000 barrels of oil a day, which will help to “balance the global oil market”.

Brent crude prices fell to $40.60, the lowest since February 2009, after a meeting of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Friday ended in disagreement over production cuts and without a reference to its output ceiling.

“Lots of people said that Opec was dead; Opec itself just confirmed it”, Jamie Webster, a Washington-based oil analyst for IHS, said in Vienna. The bank recommends increasing exposure to oil-related assets with a view that commodity prices are bottoming out.

Arriving for Friday’s meeting, Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Iran is ready to discuss a ceiling for its production – but only after his country makes a “full return to the market”.

Oil extended losses below $40 a barrel amid speculation a global glut will be prolonged as OPEC abandoned the idea of limiting production to control prices.

Following strong jobs data on Friday, a decision to raise interest rates in the United States from current near-zero levels has become more likely. Crude is traded in dollars and so producers earn more when the greenback is rising.

NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are dropping in early trading Monday as investors dump energy companies on lower oil prices. How much is the price rise on that announcement you think – $5, $10?

U.S. Treasury debt prices rallied as investors consolidated positions in a week that is generally thin on economic data after last Friday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. November jobs report.