UAE Thinks Shale Hurting More than OPEC With Current Oil Prices

January 13, 2015 Share Print 0

OPEC nations can withstand a drop in crude prices to the lowest in more than five years, while shale drillers will probably be the first to curb production amid the collapse, the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said.

Oil slumped almost 50 percent last year, the most since the 2008 financial crisis, amid a supply surplus that the U.A.E. and Qatar estimate at 2 million barrels a day. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is battling a U.S. shale boom by resisting production cuts and signaling its readiness to let prices fall to a level that slows American output, which has surged to a three-decade high.

“Everyone needs to take measures, but those who are producing the most expensive oil — the rationale and the rules of the market say that they should be the first to pull or reduce their production,” Suhail Al Mazrouei, the U.A.E. minister, told reporters today in Abu Dhabi. “If the price is right for them to produce, then fine, let them produce. If the price is not right, then they will reduce.”

U.S. crude slid below $45 a barrel today, falling to the lowest level since March 2009. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Societe Generale SA (GLE) cut their price forecasts, while Venezuela called on its fellow producers in OPEC to work together to lift prices back toward $100 a barrel.

via Bloomberg

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Bio
Twitter
Google+
Latest Posts

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.