Business | Oil & Gas
Oman crude settles below $60 a barrel
Middle East crude benchmark Oman settled below $60 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) yesterday, for the first time since the futures contract was launched in June 2007, and a day before Opec meets with eyes on a possible output cut to limit a price slide.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:55 October 23, 2008
Singapore: Middle East crude benchmark Oman settled below $60 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) yesterday, for the first time since the futures contract was launched in June 2007, and a day before Opec meets with eyes on a possible output cut to limit a price slide.
The front-month December contract settled at $59.99 a barrel at 0830 GMT, the daily Asian close for the contract.
"It's a sign of the times," a Singapore-based trader said.
The price of Oman crude has more than halved since peaks of more than $140 a barrel amid growing economic woes and weakening oil demand.
Opec meeting
Oman's fall underpins Opec's fears of crashing prices that have prompted the organisation to call for an emergency meeting today to discuss an output cut.
So far, estimates of how much Opec should cut to prevent a big build up in stocks have ranged from token volumes to several million barrels per day (bpd), although that could be done in stages.
Delegates on Wednesday said at least a million bpd needed to be taken away.
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