LONDON: After the meeting of OPEC, the Brent crude oil prices dropped below $77 per barrel on London’s Futures exchange recording a 4 years plunge.
The crude oil futures for delivery in January traded at $76.49 per barrel as of 09:45 a.m. Moscow time (0645 GMT). On Wednesday, the price of Brent crude was $78.76 per barrel.
The oil prices plunge on speculation that OPEC, which is scheduled to hold a meeting in Vienna on Thursday, will not cut production.
The world oil price has declined by nearly 30% over the past six months. The market players suppose that if OPEC countries fail to agree on measures to considerably reduce oil production the oil price may drop to $60 a barrel.
The OPEC member states last time reduced oil production quotas in 2008 when the oil price fell from $140 to $32 a barrel. Some cartel members such as Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela and Ecuador are for the quota reduction as soon as possible, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait are against, while the stance of the most influential OPEC member Saudi Arabia is still unclear.
