LONDON (SHARECAST) - Oil prices fell again, hitting a 17-month low Friday, despite the announcement of a production cut of 1.5m barrels a day by OPEC.
The cuts start in November, OPEC said at its emergency meeting in Vienna, but some analysts said there was disappointment that the cut wasn’t bigger.
In a statement following the meeting the oil cartel said, "The financial crisis is dampening demand for energy, in general, and oil in particular."
Crude for December delivery closed down$3.69 at $64.15 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week crude was down 11.1%.
OPEC’s cut was expected to give prices a boost Friday and help stabilise prices in the future but traders instead worried about the slump in global demand as major stock markets continued to suffer a massive rout.
The continued strength of the dollar also weighed on oil prices but gold prices managed to buck its recent losing streak.
Commodities have been heavily sold recently as fund managers liquidate funds for cash amid concerns about a recession.
Gold for December delivery rose $15.60 to settle at $730.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Investors turned to its safe haven qualities amid the financial turmoil Friday.
Among other metals silver for December fell 21 cents to $9.30 while copper for December slipped 12 cents to $1.69.
