Oil prices on the slide

摘要

GIL PRICES were around 60/b on 24 October and many analysts were forecasting further price falls after Opec's decision to cut output failed to banish the market's bears.Analysts said the cuts-the group agreed to lower output by 1.5m b/d from November-had already been built into the market.The week before,when Opec said it would bring its extraordinary meeting forward from 18 November to 24 October,the prospect of an output cut had helped firm oil prices,pushing December-delivery Brent up over 70/b.But those gains were short-lived.Although it is just four months since WTI futures rose to 147/b,some analysts are talking of 50/b as a realistic downside target.