Crude oil prices hit 11-year low

Brent oil fell to 36.06 USD per barrel on the afternoon of December 21 (Hanoi time) - the lowest since July 2004 due to investors' concerns about oversupply.

This price is lower than the bottom of 36.2 USD at the peak of the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, WTI crude oil also lost 0.4 USD, down to 34.32 USD a barrel.

Global production is near record levels and could rise due to new supplies from Iran and the U.S. Crude prices are also under pressure following last week’s U.S. interest rate hike and signs that more U.S. drilling rigs are coming online.

Since mid-2014, global crude oil prices have fallen by more than two-thirds as supply outstrips demand. Barclays says prices are likely to fall further. Morgan Stanley says that "hopes of a market rebalancing in 2016 look increasingly remote." The firm says that "stronger-than-expected" US production, the possibility of Iran pumping at least half a million barrels a day into the market next year, increased Libyan production and slowing demand are the main causes of the oversupply.

In addition, production in Russia has also exceeded 10 million barrels per day - the highest since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, this figure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continues to maintain a record level of 31.5 million barrels.

Iran's Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told Reuters last week that OPEC would stick to its decision earlier this month and would not cut production, despite falling prices. The United States has also lifted a 40-year ban on crude oil exports.

According to VNE