Crude oil prices plunged Monday, unable to sustain last week’s advance due to OPEC’s inaction regarding potential supply cuts.
March WTI oil settled at $31.62.bbl on Nymex, down $2, or 6 percent.
Dismal economic news from China also spooked traders.
China’s official manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4 in January from 49.7 in December. Manufacturing contracted for the sixth straight month, for the weakest reading since 2012.
Meanwhile, OPEC continued to pump oil at a breakneck pace even as smaller member states like Nigeria run out of cash.
Goldman Sachs analysts said today that a deal between OPEC and Russia to curb supplies is unlikely.
Global demand for energy products is sluggish at a time when inventories continue to build, driving crude oil prices to the lowest since 2003 a few weeks ago.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com