U.S. oil stumbled
below $30 for the first time in 12 years to levels that threaten the
survival of many U.S. shale firms, spur more belt-tightening by oil
majors and spell more pain for crude-producing nations and regions.
A
seven-day losing streak fueled by concerns about a continued supply
glut and fragile demand from China, the world's No. 2 consumer, wiped
out almost a fifth of crude prices CLc1 this year and 70 percent since
mid-2014.
Traders have all but given up attempting to predict where the new-year rout will end, with momentum-driven dealing and overwhelmingly bearish sentiment engulfing the market. Some analysts warned of $20 a barrel; Standard Chartered said fund selling may not relent until it reaches $10.
And more of the world's biggest energy companies are conceding that it may be many years before prices recover. On Tuesday, U.S. crude futures traded below $50 through 2021.
British oil and gas giant BP Plc (BP.L) said on Tuesday it would slash 5 percent of its workforce in the face of the continued slump while Brazil's state oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA) cut its investment plan for the third time in six months.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) meanwhile have seen their stock decline by 11 and 4 percent respectively.
The latest cuts add to the hundreds of thousands of job lost and billions of dollars spending cuts throughout crude's 18-month slide from levels above $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014, a collapse that has run far longer and deeper than originally expected, reaching crisis point for some.
There are few signs suggesting any near-term relief. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted on Tuesday that already heavily swollen global oil stockpiles would continue rising until the second half of next year.
Traders have all but given up attempting to predict where the new-year rout will end, with momentum-driven dealing and overwhelmingly bearish sentiment engulfing the market. Some analysts warned of $20 a barrel; Standard Chartered said fund selling may not relent until it reaches $10.
And more of the world's biggest energy companies are conceding that it may be many years before prices recover. On Tuesday, U.S. crude futures traded below $50 through 2021.
British oil and gas giant BP Plc (BP.L) said on Tuesday it would slash 5 percent of its workforce in the face of the continued slump while Brazil's state oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA) cut its investment plan for the third time in six months.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) meanwhile have seen their stock decline by 11 and 4 percent respectively.
The latest cuts add to the hundreds of thousands of job lost and billions of dollars spending cuts throughout crude's 18-month slide from levels above $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014, a collapse that has run far longer and deeper than originally expected, reaching crisis point for some.
There are few signs suggesting any near-term relief. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted on Tuesday that already heavily swollen global oil stockpiles would continue rising until the second half of next year.
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