Kuwaiti crude on Tuesday was down to USD 38.90 per barrel, its lowest in little more than six years, losing up to USD 69.01 per barrel since last June. It hit USD 38.80 per barrel on 2 December 2008.
Severe falls of oil prices have been sweeping the world markets over the past six months, with no pick-up looming, oil expert Mohammad Al-Shatti told KUNA today, citing oversupply, combined with decline of demand and rising production of shale oil.
He added that the market is oversupplied by non-OPEC members, ruling out the need for emergency meetings by the world oil-producer cartel. Market mechanism, supply and demand, is the best tool to restore balance to prices, he stressed.
According to Al-Shatti, speculations on the oil markets stood behind the fast pace of prices falls over the past period. Oversupply from Russia and Iraq is another factor.
One more influential one is the economic conditions in Russia, Japan and Europe, he said.
Forthcoming predictions by the OPEC Secretariat and the International Energy Agency over the coming few days "will no doubt impact the market and prices." Earlier today, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced that the price of Kuwaiti crude oil reached USD 38.90 per barrel yesterday, as the downturn continued on the international markets, with the future contracts hitting its the lowest rate in six years.
The price of Brent crude for February delivery slumped by USD 0.84 to stand at USD 46.59.
Meanwhile, the price of the light American crude for February delivery declined by USD 0.18 to USD 45.89.