BLBG: Global Crude Plunges Through $60 as Producers Fail to Curb Glut
The global price of crude oil plunged through $60 a barrel for the first time in five years with almost no signs producers are ready to tackle a glut.
Brent futures slumped as much 3.3 percent to its lowest since May 2009 in London. West Texas Intermediate, the New York-traded grade, dropped below $55 for the first time in five years. U.S. drillers are benefiting as costs fall almost as quickly as prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. OPEC shouldn’t be expected to cut output while other producers continue to expand, the United Arab Emirates energy minister said.
Crude oil slumped about 45 percent this year as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sought to defend market share amid a U.S. shale boom that’s exacerbating a global glut. The group, responsible for 40 percent of the world’s supply, will refrain from curbing output, U.A.E. Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Dec. 14.
