Glut concerns pushing down oil prices to Great Recession lows

London

OIL prices are flirting with Great Recession lows following last week's fractious Opec meeting.

Brent oil prices have plunged 5 per cent from US$45.1 early last Friday to US$42.9 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate hovered around US$38.7 - a six-year low, on the belief that a glut of oil would cause prices to sink. These levels compare with Brent oil prices in December 2008 when they briefly tumbled below US$40 and then traded between US$41 and US$45 in the following days.

Despite Nigeria, Venezuela and other stressed Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) nations' attempts to persuade Saudi Arabia to cut output, a decision was postponed unti…