Oil slumps near $59 for first time since 2009 on oversupply
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Oil fell to just above $59 a barrel for the first time since May 2009 Tuesday, extending a six-month selloff as slowing Chinese factory activity and weakening emerging-market currencies added to concerns about demand.
International benchmark Brent crude has almost halved since reaching a 2014 high of $115 a barrel in June on ample supply and slowing demand, and a switch in strategy by exporter group OPEC to defending market share rather than prices.
A report showing Chinese industrial activity shrank for the first time in seven months in December added to concern about oil demand. China is the second-largest oil consumer after the United States.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell as low as $59.02, its weakest level since May 2009, and as of 0914 GMT (04:14am EST) was down $1.81 at $59.25. US crude CLc1 was down $1.60 at $54.31 a barrel, according to a news agency.