22 October 2014
Glimmer of hope amid the falling oil price gloom
Lower oil prices will be tough for the industry, but good for the global growth and demand
Call it an aberration, a slump, or a correction, the near-25% plunge in oil prices in the past three months comes with consequences. Some of the carnage is visible. As a group, the 199 biggest energy firms listed in the US have seen about 17% wiped off their stock. The RTS, Russia’s stock exchange, has fallen by about the same, while the rouble is now a quarter cheaper than it was in July. Against the US dollar, Canada’s loonie has shed 6% of its value. If $85 a barrel is the new normal for Brent, Opec’s spendthrift producers will start feeling the pinch quickly. High break-even oil prices among producers may be a motivator at their meeting in Vienna later this month. Only those in the Gulf
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