The US oil price fell below the symbolic threshold of $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009, before finishing the day at $50.05. The price of Brent crude also fell on Monday, dipping 6% to $53 a barrel.
The oil price drop that has dominated the headlines in recent weeks has been framed almost exclusively in terms of oil market economics, with most media outlets blaming Saudi Arabia, through its OPEC Trojan horse, for driving down the price, thus causing serious damage to the world's major oil exporters – most notably Russia.
Market analysts describes two possible international scenarios. Whichever one prevails will be decisive. But it is not happenning soon.
The demand for oil in 2015 will drop to its lowest level since 2002 because of an oversupply of crude and stagnant economies in China and Europe, according to OPEC's latest forecast. And that's just one of several sour estimates.
The Russian ruble suffered on Tuesday its biggest one-day decline since 1998 as oil prices continued to fall on Monday, escalating fears about the Russian economy. The currency slid almost 9% against the dollar before rallying after suspected central bank intervention.
Brent and US crude oil plunged as much as 6.50 dollars a barrel on Thursday, the steepest one-day falls since 2011 following on OPEC's decision against cutting output despite a huge oversupply in world markets.
As November draws to a close, there are two major events that could profoundly change the oil markets. With the clock ticking, the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5 plus 1) are negotiating down to the wire with Iran over its nuclear program.
With oil prices low and showing no sign of an immediate rebound, the industry is beginning to pull back on spending. Oil prices have dropped around 30% since summer highs, raising fears among producers across the globe.
West Texas Intermediate, WTI crude closed at a three-year low on Wednesday with prices under pressure from the growing oil glut created by the U.S. shale boom and the restart of Libya's largest operational oilfield.
The global oil market slump looks likely to continue, with prices possibly nearing 70 dollars a barrel in the short term, an official of Russian gas producer Gazprom said. Crude fell more than on dollar a barrel on Thursday to a four-year low below 83 a barrel as growing concerns over the global economy stretched a four-month rout.