LONDON: Brent crude oil rose yesterday to above US$71 a barrel, recovering from a five-year low it hit earlier as investors looked for a price floor after last week’s Opec decision not to cut production.
US crude and Brent have fallen for five months in a row, oil’s longest losing streak since the 2008 financial crisis.
Brent hit a low of US$67.53 a barrel, the lowest since October 2009, before rising 85 cents to US$71.00 a barrel by 1454GMT. US crude was up US$1.01 at US$67.16 a barrel, having slipped to an intraday low of US$63.72, the lowest since July 2009.
“The market is still very much in panic mode,” said Energy Aspects’ chief oil analyst Amrita Sen.
“Once we get over the panic, Brent prices will probably stabilise at around US$65-80 a barrel in the short term.”
“We can expect such volatility in the near future given the market had overshot to the downside,” Sen said. Reuters