Crude Oil Could Plunge to as Low as $30 a Barrel
- Bank sees short-term oil price risk skewed to the downside
- Shale is creating price cap while OPEC has created a floor
OPEC Has Lost Market Leverage, Says CFR's Richard Haass
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Crude prices could plunge toward $30 a barrel -- a rout of about 40 percent from current levels -- unless OPEC extends production cuts that are propping up the market, ABN Amro Bank NV said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at the end of November to limit collective production by 1.2 million barrels a day. It then got support from non-member nations, most notably Russia, that meant total planned curbs of about 1.8 million barrels daily. However, the agreed period for those reductions was the first half of this year, leaving uncertainty about what happens from July.