RTRS: Oil dives towards $60 on deep economic gloom
By David Sheppard
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil dived to just above $60 a barrel Thursday, extending the previous day's 7 percent drop, after the International Monetary Fund warned developed economies would deliver their worst performance since World War II.
U.S. crude was trading at $60.84 a barrel by 11:33 a.m. EDT, just off a session low of $60.16, which was the lowest since March 2007. London Brent Crude dropped $4.34 to $57.53.
Selling accelerated after the IMF said developed economies were heading for the first full-year contraction in more than half a century.
It also lowered its 2009 baseline oil price projection to $68 per barrel from $100.
Oil prices had already dropped Wednesday after U.S. government data showed an unexpected rise in gasoline stocks following a 2.3 percent fall in demand in the world's biggest energy consumer.
Faced with a major drop in consumption, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has already cut supplies following an emergency meeting and some of its members have already called for further action.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday OPEC needed to reduce output by a further million barrels per day, following on from the 1.5 million bpd cut agreed last month.
Although the oil market has been more strongly focused on weak demand than tight supplies, analysts have said OPEC's action would at some point provide support.
"The circuit breaker is OPEC," said Mike Wittner of Societe Generale.
Over the long term, he predicted limited supplies would struggle to match demand.
"The long term story still hasn't really changed," he said further. "Lower prices encourage demand and discourage supply."
In its World Energy Outlook to be released in full next week, which covers the period up to 2030, the International Energy Agency said the world faced an energy supply crunch and an oil price above $100 a barrel.
(additional reporting by Barbara Lewis and Christopher Johnson)