Crude Oil plunges below $49

After some consolidating during the holidays, Crude Oil is again posting fresh multi-year lows on a daily basis. WTI futures just fell below the $49 level, while Brent is approaching $51. The move has been painful for all of the OPEC members, but the major one’s led by Saudi-Arabia still seem to be comfortable with the decline, in order to hurt the US shale oil production. While Saudi-Arabia may be able to endure such large losses, it could lead to increased tensions within the organization as other members cannot afford to have Oil prices at such low levels. In either case, Oil prices will remain under pressure in the near-term.