According to data from Thomson Reuters, on Wednesday morning Brent posted a low of $49.92 a barrel, having opened at $51.15, before rallying above the $50 watershed to $50.08 later in the morning. The price of light crude was trading at $47 at 08.32 GMT, having opened at $48.
The decline represents the lowest price of oil since May 2009, and continues last year’s sharp decline in which the price has more than halved. In June, the price of benchmark Brent crude was $112 a barrel, whereas light crude traded at $105 a barrel.
On Tuesday Reuters reported that the Saudi Arabian state oil firm Aramco had announced that it was currently cutting prices for US and European customers. "The moves are reinforcing [the notion]that the Saudis just don’t intend to do anything to rebalance (price) levels," energy analyst Gene McGillian told the news agency. According to the report, Arab light crude bound for Europe was discounted by $1.50 a barrel for February delivery, while American customers received a price cut of 60 cents from the previous month, the fifth consecutive such cut.
