The price for February futures for WTI oil fell below $50 per barrel at the New York Exchange today. The price of Brent oil dropped to $52.99 at the ICE in London at 7.28pm. The dollar gained 4.40 rubles and totaled 60.40 rubles at the Moscow Exchange at 8.17pm, the price for the euro increased by 3.19 rubles and totaled 71.84 rubles.
Vyacheslav Kulagin, the director of the Center for Studies of World Energy Markets of the RAS Institute for Energy Research, noted that excess of offer on the market forced the prices to drop. He added that Europe and China did not live up to expectations for energy demand. The excess of oil encouraged countries, like Saudi Arabia, to compete.
According to a Reuters article published today, OPEC states are waiting for expiration of oil price insurances of U.S. shale oil extractors. Many companies were insured until the start of 2015, some until the end of the year. UAE Minister for Energy Suhail Al Mazroui said that OPEC states needed to wait throughout the first quarter to see the consequences.
Kulagin said that the market will normalize in time. He predicts that oil prices will either continue falling or make a slight rise. The expert believes that oil will cost $80-90 per barrel at the end of the year and further on.
