OPEC tried. You have to give it to the oil ticks. They really tried hard to manipulate a “fair” price for oil. But they can’t beat a bear market.
Oil fell to the lowest level in more than four years after the U.S. Energy Department said supplies climbed for the 11th time in 12 weeks and OPEC failed to convince traders that the glut in crude will diminish.
Inventories rose 525,000 barrels to 321.3 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Department said today in a weekly report. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut output by 4.2 million barrels a day from September levels.
“There is nothing bullish in these numbers,†said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president of global energy futures at Macquarie Futures USA Inc. in New York. “The OPEC announcement looks big on first glance but really isn’t. They are playing with smoke and mirrors.â€
Everybody bow your heads for a moment of silence, in honor of the free market trumping the OPEC cartel.
Nah, the hell with that. Can I get a Nelson laugh?
At 12:45 p.m., crude oil is trading at $41.72/bbl, down nearly 4.5% on the day.
Update: Finished below $40, at $39.71 for the day. Welcome to the free markets, OPEC. Hope you don’t survive the experience.