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Oil prices keep sinking

18 February 2009 09:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev â€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil traded below $35 a barrel in New York on speculation that U.S. stockpiles climbed for the 19th time in 21 weeks amid a drop in demand because of the deepening global recession, Bloomberg reports.
Crude oil for March delivery was at $34.45 a barrel, down 48 cents, in electronic trading at 2:38 p.m. Singapore time on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In New York yesterday, futures fell $2.58, or 6.9 percent, to settle at $34.93 a barrel, the biggest decline since Jan. 27. Prices are down 22 percent this year.
The March contract expires on Feb. 20. The more active April contract was at $38.23 a barrel, down 31 cents, at 2:40 p.m. Singapore time.
Prices for oil to be delivered in future months are higher than for earlier ones, a situation known as contango, allowing buyers to profit from hoarding oil. The price of oil for delivery in April is $3.47 a barrel higher than for March. December futures are up $13.55 a barrel from the front month.
Brent crude oil for April settlement was at $40.50 a barrel, down 15 cents, at 2:46 p.m. Singapore time on Londonâ€™s ICE Futures Europe exchange. It declined yesterday $2.25, or 5.2 percent, to end the session at $41.03 a barrel, the lowest since Dec. 30.
OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the worldâ€™s oil, may cut production at a March 15 meeting if prices and markets are unstable, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said.