Crude price slides below $100 a barrel

Price of Crude oil has slipped more then 27% since june 11 when it touched the highest ever $ 147 mark / barrel.

The price of crude oil produced by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has plunged below $100 per barrel for the first time since late March, according to OPEC data released here on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, one barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at $98.49, $2.59 less than the previous day's $101.08.

OPEC's latest price announcement came before its decision early Wednesday to cut overproduction.

OPEC calculates an average basket price based on 13 brands produced by cartel members.

A statement issued by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries issued after oil ministers ended their meeting early Wednesday said the organization agreed to produce 28.8 million barrels a day. OPEC President Chakib Khelil said that quota in effect meant that member countries had agreed to cut back 520,000 barrels a day in production over the established quota.

OPEC's statement on Wednesday noted that "prices had dropped significantly in recent weeks driven by a weakening world economy ... with its concomitant lower oil demand growth, coupled with higher crude supply, a strengthening of the U.S. dollar and an easing of geopolitical tensions." And it warned of the possibility of further price erosion, forecasting a possible "shift in market sentiment, causing downside risks to the global oil market outlook."

Oil demand from China's and India's booming economies have helped fuel oil demand and drive up prices.

At the next OPEC meeting on December 17, in Oran, Algeria, the organization would "reassess the market situation.

Since crude surged to a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11, it has tumbled by over $40, or more than 27 percent. Still, prices remain close to 14 percent higher this year than in 2007, and a barrel of benchmark crude still fetches four times what it did five years ago.

- Economic times