No relief at pump despite 10% oil price plunge
Oil prices have suffered a big drop as economic fears cause a wider commodity price slump.
Oil prices have dropped nearly 10% in one of the biggest single-day price crashes on record.
West Texas crude settled at $99.80 a barrel, down $9.44, before dropping to $98.25 a barrel in post-settlement trade.
It was the second-biggest one-day loss in dollar terms on record, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures for June settled at US$110.80 a barrel, down US$10.39, then dropped to $109.02 a barrel in post-settlement trade.
The drop of more than US$12 was the second-biggest one-day loss on record for this type of oil.
This was the fourth straight day oil prices have dropped, with fears about weak economic growth causing commodity prices to plummet.
Before the slump Brent crude had topped US$127 a barrel earlier this year and West Texas had gone above US$114, due to the weak US dollar and supply concerns brought about by unrest in the Middle East.
The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index fell more than 4.5% and is heading towards its biggest weekly decline since December 2008.
Sheena Thomas, spokeswoman for Greenstone Energy which owns Shell, said the company was "very aware" of the large price drop but wouldn't change its prices until it had a clearer picture of where prices were heading.
"We will be reconsidering our fuel prices on Monday," she said. "At this stage we can't predict if it's going to stay down or whether it's just a blip."
She said Shell would be watching how the market closes tonight and will keep a close eye on the price of refined oil, which is more relevant to the company's costs.
NBR staff
Fri, 06 May 2011
Fri, 06 May 2011
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
No relief at pump despite 10% oil price plunge
14364