Oil: barrel of WTI falls below 50 dollars

London, Nov 29, 2018 (AFP) – The price of a barrel of WTI oil fell below $ 50 on Thursday, the first since October 2017, when the prospect of a surplus supply worries markets at a week's notice. a meeting of OPEC.

In the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) electronic trade, WTI barrel for delivery in January lost 81 cents around 10:35 GMT from Wednesday's close of $ 49.88. Around 0840 GMT, the US crude oil price fell to 49.41 dollars, its lowest for almost fourteen months.

The Brent North Sea barrel for the same term was worth $ 58.11 on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London, down 65 cents by 1035 GMT. Around 8:40 GMT, the reference barrel in Europe fell to $ 57.50, also at its lowest level since early October 2017.

Since their peak in four years almost two months ago, oil prices have fallen by around 35%, penalized by fears of a surplus supply and doubts about the ability of the Organization of Exporting Countries to Petroleum (OPEC) and its partners to agree on a reduction in their production.

"According to President Putin (who spoke on Wednesday), Russia is absolutely at ease + with an oil price (Brent, ed) at 60 dollars," argued analysts Commerzbank.

In addition, Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh "has made it clear that Saudi Arabia will not reduce its production alone," said Commerzbank analysts.

A week at a summit in Vienna of OPEC and its partners, including Russia, such statements reinforce the skepticism of analysts about a significant decline in the production of the cartel, in a context where the United States United pump at record levels.

On Wednesday, according to figures released by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), crude oil reserves in the United States rose for the tenth consecutive week.

ktr / pn / evs

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