(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)
Crude-oil prices declined on the last day of trading in 2014 ending a rough year for the commodity where prices fell 46%.
West Texas Intermediate for February delivery slid 1.6% to finish at US$53.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
That's a far cry from a year ago when the most-active contract settled at US$98.42 a barrel.
Prices on Wednesday slipped even as U.S. commercial inventories declined more than expected for the week.
Brent for February settlement fell 2% to US$56.75 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after touching US$55.81 also the lowest since May 2009.
Prices have decreased 49% this year. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of US$3.78 to WTI on the ICE compared with US$12.38 at the end of last year.
Oil’s slump has disturbed markets from the Russian ruble to the Nigerian naira and squeezed government budgets in producing nations including Venezuela and Ecuador.
It has also boosted China’s emergency crude reserves and helped shrink fuel subsidies in India and Indonesia.
Low prices have prompted U.S. producers including ConocoPhillips and Continental Resources Inc. to plan spending cuts for 2015.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it expects a “far lower” new normal for prices and Barclays Plc said oil has “further downside risk.”
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