Brent crude futures tumbled nearly $2 to below $89 a barrel on Friday, trading at their weakest since 2010, as rising supply and a weakening global economic outlook stretched a months-long slump in oil prices.
US crude also slid by more than $2 to hit its lowest since 2012, ratcheting up pressure on OPEC to slash output to rescue prices in the face of slow demand.
"I think we've arrived at a pivotal support level for both Brent and West Texas Intermediate. $85 is the area where OPEC has intervened in the market in the past," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
“I’m not saying they will come in this time. They need to consider the overall supply situation - it might be too expensive.”
Brent crude for November delivery was down $1.25 at $88.80 a barrel by 0634 GMT, after falling earlier to $88.11 - its lowest since December 2010.
US November crude dropped $1.62 to $84.15 a barrel. The contract, also known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), hit a session low of $83.59, its lowest since July 2012.
Brent is on track for a third straight weekly loss and WTI is on course for its sharpest weekly fall since June 2012 with a loss of nearly 7 per cent.
Oil prices extended steep losses from Thursday that were fuelled by dismal data from Germany which showed exports from Europe’s top economy falling in August by the most since January 2009.
“There is panic at the moment. Bad news led to the sell-off in equities in the West and that triggered it,” said an oil trader with a bank who declined to be identified due to company policy.
“There is so much oil in the Mediterranean, Africa and everywhere. My biggest problem is where is the demand going to come from?” the trader said.
Brent has fallen nearly 24 per cent since hitting this year’s high of $115.71 in June as geopolitical risks from the Middle East to Ukraine failed to disrupt oil supplies, while output from key producers such as Libya improved.
US crude inventories also soared far more than expected last week on higher imports and as refineries cut output.
“In terms of the overall momentum of the market it could keep falling although I don’t think it will overshoot too far,” CMC Markets’ Spooner said.
The relentless decline in oil prices prompted investment bank Barclays to slash its average fourth-quarter forecast for Brent to $93 a barrel from $106 previously. It also cut its estimate for WTI to $85 from $98.
Calls for members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to curb output have been mounting since oil prices fell below OPEC’s preferred level of $100 a barrel although some members have shrugged off the decline.
Reuters
