Oman crude oil prices on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange closed below $70 a barrel Monday for the first time in more than four years.
Prices plunged by around $9.50 per barrel in the last three trading sessions as OPEC’s decision not to cut oil production weighed heavily on the market.
DME futures, the international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, last traded below $70/b in July 2010.
The new front-month February it closed 12:30 Dubai time at $67.23 per barrel- down $3.07 on the previous close and the lowest closing price since September 2009.
The December contract, which expired on Friday, briefly traded below $70.00/b before rebounding to settle at $70.47.
Prices peaked this year above $111 per barrel in June but have now fallen by over $40 in four months, or almost 40%. The average 2014 price of Oman crude as of close of business Friday is $100.32 a barrel.
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