Business | Oil & Gas
Brent oil falls below $100 a barrel
London: Brent crude oil prices fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in five months on Tuesday on expectations that OpecC would leave formal output targets unchanged and as Hurricane Ike's threat to US Gulf of Mexico energy infrastructure receded.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:21 September 10, 2008
London: Brent crude oil prices fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in five months on Tuesday on expectations that Opec would leave formal output targets unchanged and as Hurricane Ike's threat to US Gulf of Mexico energy infrastructure receded.
London Brent fell $4.54 to $99.04 a barrel - the first time world oil prices have traded in the double digits since April 2 - before trimming losses to settle down $3.10 to $100.34 a barrel. The US benchmark fell $3.08 to settle at $103.26 a barrel.
Opec ministers meeting in Vienna were leaning toward leaving formal output targets unchanged despite some members' suggestions that a cut is needed to stem a steep decline in oil prices since mid-July.
But the group still could move quietly to trim excess output. As a whole, Opec is estimated to be producing about 790,000 barrels per day above a collective ceiling of 29.67 million bpd for its 12 members with output limits.
Oil has fallen by nearly 30 per cent from record highs of more than $147 a barrel in July, pressured partly by a rebound in the US dollar and a drop in demand from top energy consumer the United States.
"Opec leaving quotas unchanged is a little disappointing for the market," said UBS oil strategist Thomas Stenvoll.
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