Oil prices slid nearly 3 percent on Thursday, extending the previous session's dive that brought prices to the lowest levels this year, as record US crude inventories fed doubts about whether OPEC-led supply cuts would reduce a global glut. US crude prices fell through the $50 a barrel support level, with market participants unwinding some of the massive number of bullish wagers they had amassed after a deal by top global oil producers to limit output. US light crude was down 2.8 percent to $48.85 a barrel after reaching an intraday low of $48.67, the lowest since the OPEC cuts were announced. "Given that we do expect OECD oil stocks to decline substantially this year helped by the large OPEC cuts and robust global demand growth, we consider the recent drop in crude oil prices to be a good opportunity to enter into bullish option structures," strategists at Societe Generale said in a note. OPEC hopes it can persuade other oil producers to make deeper cuts to try to push up prices that have been slumping for more than two years.

Source: The Star March 09, 2017 20:41 UTC