King Abdullah Dies, Oil Prices Soar
23 January 2015 12:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, New York — Oil prices surged on Friday following the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) soared as much as 3.1 percent in New York, right after the Saudi royal court announced the death of King Abdullah.
Bloomberg reported that oil prices in London also experienced the same thing, yet lighter at only 2.6 percent. In early morning Asian trade, the contract was also up by US$93 cents, or 2.01 percent, at US$47.24 a barrel.
Saudi is the main producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose decision in late November “not to cut production levels despite a supply glut accelerated the fall in oil prices”, according to AFP.
Oil prices have lost more than half their value since June, when they were sitting at more than US$ 100 a barrel. Current oil price now sits at US$ 45 a barrel, due to overloaded supply and lack of demand.
AFP | RACHMA T.W.