Oil price slumps as OPEC targets US shale

FE Team | Published: November 30, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

LONDON, Nov 29 (AFP): Crude oil prices hit four-year lows this week after OPEC held output levels despite global oversupply, in a move perceived by some analysts as an attack on booming US shale energy.
Heavy falls in the oil market also dragged down many other commodities, despite holiday-shortened trade due to Thanksgiving on Thursday in the United States.
OIL: The 12-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) opted Thursday to keep its collective production ceiling at 30 million barrels per day, where it has stood for three years.
The no-change decision sent London Brent oil collapsing on Friday to $71.12 per barrel -- the lowest level since July 7, 2010 -- while in New York, Texas crude slumped to a similar low at $67.75.
The oil market has shed more than a third of its value since mid-June, depressed by plentiful supplies, the stronger dollar and demand fears in a faltering global economy.
OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and other monarchies of the Gulf were opposed to any production cuts, seeking instead to counter the rise of US shale oil -- which is more expensive to produce, according to analysts, and which is eating into OPEC's market share.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metal prices fell across the board, as the sector failed to shrug off the impact of tumbling crude oil prices.
Base metals shed some of their gains won the previous week, when a surprise interest rate cut in China sparked hopes of soaring demand in the key Asian powerhouse nation.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold lost its shine, falling as traders nervously eyed this weekend's Swiss "gold referendum".
As Switzerland prepares to vote on whether to force the country's central bank to increase its gold reserves, economists warn a 'Yes' vote could wreak havoc in financial markets.
The initiative "Save Switzerland's gold", which will be put to a popular referendum vote on Sunday, would oblige the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to boost its gold reserves to at least 20 per cent of its holdings, nearly three times more than the current level of seven per cent.
COCOA: Prices held firm as Ebola-linked supply worries continued to fade in key producing nations Ghana and Ivory Coast.
SUGAR: Prices drifted lower in muted trading conditions.
COFFEE: The coffee market pushed higher.
RUBBER: Kuala Lumpur rubber prices inched lower on the back of sparse demand.