Commodity Blog

West Texas Intermediate crude oil sank below the $40 level and Brent crude declined as well during Monday’s trading. Last week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was holding a meeting to talk about a limit on oil production as a measure to support prices. Yet the members of the organization failed to reach an agreement, meaning that the oversupply on the market will likely persist. January contract for delivery of WTI crude oil dropped 1.35 percent to $39.43 per barrel as of 11:37 GMT on NYMEX today. Brent grade declined 0.63 to trade at $42.73 per barrel on ICE.

Futures for gold fell during the current trading session as well, but the drop was limited. Market participants continued to anticipate monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve next week — the outlook that bolsters the dollar and puts pressure on dollar-priced commodities. Yet the market of metal received unexpected support from the surprisingly weak stimulus expansion performed by the European Central Bank last week, alleviating some of the pressure on commodities. February contract for delivery of gold ticked down 0.14 percent to $1,082.6 per troy ounce on COMEX today after touching $1,088.3 on Friday — the highest price since November 16.

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