Off the wire
• Feature: 24-year-old Chinese to bike from U.S. to China, advocating ecological civilization  • UN chief welcomes proposed aviation standards to limit carbon emissions  • Former Bosnian Serb general Tolimir passes away in detention  • UN food agency offers aid in northern Aleppo of Syria  • News Analysis: Egypt keen on boosting foreign currency resources  • UN chief expresses sadness at passing of former Prime Minister of Nepal  • Albania, UNICEF sign cooperation agreement on child internet safety  • Macedonian parliament committee approves legalization of controlled cannabis products  • Urgent: Oil prices fall amid glut concerns  • UN chief hails first binding limits on emissions from aviation industry  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: Oil prices plunge amid supplies glut worries

Xinhua, February 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Oil prices dived Tuesday as production cut from the world's key producers seems unlikely.

The oil production of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) averaged 31.6 million barrels per day last year, an increase of 0.8 million barrels per day from 2014, led by rising production in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, according to the short-term energy outlook released by U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) Tuesday.

EIA forecast that OPEC's oil production will increase by 0.7 million barrels per day this year and by 0.6 million barrels per day in 2017, with Iran accounting for most of the increase. EIA assumes that a collaborative production cut among OPEC members and other major producers does not occur in the forecast period, as major OPEC producers continue the strategy to maintain market share.

Venezuela's oil minister Eulogio Del Pino was on a tour of oil producers to lobby for action to prop up prices. No deal was reached from a meeting Sunday between Saudi Arabia and Venezuela discussing a topic that OPEC and non-OPEC suppliers should meet to discuss the price slump.

The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery moved down 1.75 U.S. dollars to settle at 27.94 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery decreased 2.56 dollars to close at 30.32 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Endit