Oil Drops 6% to Lowest Level in More than 1 Year, Brent Crude Dips to $50.47 a Barrel

December 25, 2018

Oil prices plunged more than 6% to the lowest level in more than a year on Monday, pulling back sharply late in the session as fears of an economic slowdown rattled the market.

U.S. crude futures have hit the lowest level since June 22, 2017, while Brent crude reached its lowest level since Aug. 17, 2017.

Markets across asset classes have come under pressure as the U.S. government shutdown, as Investors have flocked to safe-haven assets such as gold and government debt.

U.S. crude futures settled at $42.53 a barrel, down $3.06, or 6.7%. Brent crude futures settled down $3.35, or 6.2%, at $50.47 a barrel.

Brent fell 11% last week and hit its lowest level since September 2017, while U.S. futures slid to their lowest level since July 2017, bringing the decline in the two contracts to more than 35% for the quarter.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia agreed this month to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day from January.