Oil price falls to one-month low
Nymex January West Texas Intermediate dropped $1.80 to $89.21 a barrel, its lowest price since October 25. WTI crude oil price has fallen $10 in just four trading sessions, having reached an all-time high of $99.29 a barrel just a week ago. ICE January Brent fell $1.75 to $88.47 a barrel. Sucden, the London-based commodities trader, said: "Market participants are concerned that a potential slowdown in the US and the global economy could dent demand for energy." Traders also said that the breaking of the $90 a barrel level means that the market has no further support until closer to $80 a barrel, leaving the price vulnerable to technical selling. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will discuss whether to increase its production next Wednesday in a ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi. The cartel has been mulling in the last few days an increase of 500,000 barrels a day to prevent record oil prices to damage the world's economy. But with prices falling quickly, sentiment among the cartel's oil ministers could turn around, traders said. Base metals traded higher supported by a large drop in inventories in China but capped by concerns about the health of the US economy. On the London Metal Exchange, copper rose 1.6 per cent to $6,980 a tonne after Beijing reported that the red metal's inventories dropped 20 per cent last week. Aluminium rose 0.2 per cent to $2,511 a tonne while tin moved above $17,000 a tonne, up 1.4 per cent on the day. Gold prices moved lower to $794.50 an ounce dragged down by the falling crude oil price and flat US dollar. Agriculture commodities pulled back from Thursday's gains, but prices for the next crop remained strong. CBOT March corn lost 1 3/4 cents to $3.99 a bushel while CBOT March wheat lost 9 3/4 cents to $8.78 1/2 a bushel. CBOT January soyabean lost 13 cents to $10.85 a bushel, but still close to this week's 34-year high of $11.14 a bushel. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
|
 |
 |