Oil Drop Renews Market Sell Off

February 11, 2016 Share Print 0

The dramatic crash in oil prices has returned with a vengeance.

U.S. crude futures dropped 3% Thursday, driving prices below $27 for the second time in recent weeks. Before this year, oil prices hadn’t dipped below $27 since 2003.

The steady decline is creating a widespread headache for financial markets. It’s causing energy companies’ profits to plunge, raising worries about the prospect of bankruptcies in the oil sector and spooking investors about global growth. In total, crude oil has plunged an incredible 75% from its June 2014 peak of almost $108.

The Hang Seng (HSI) dropped nearly 4% Thursday, while the Nikkei (N225) shed 2.3%. Major indexes in Europe opened roughly 2% lower. And U.S. stock futures are down nearly 2%.

CNN

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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.