Oil prices back in the $40s, sink to 5-month low

Crude oil prices are back in the $40-territory as uncertainty and oversupply brew across the global market.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, was trading at $48.54 per barrel on Friday, from over $50 only 24 hours ago.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or US crude was hovering around $45 a barrel on the international market.

According to the secretariat of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the average price of 13 variants of crude oil, including Nigeria’s Bonny Light, stood at $47.44 per barrel at the close of trading on Thursday.

“OPEC daily basket price stood at $47.44 a barrel Thursday, 4 May 2017, compared with $48.34 the previous day,” the organisation said in a note to TheCable.

Brent crude prices fell to as low as $46.64, to record the lowest trading point since November 30, 2016, while WTI touched down at $44.94 per barrel.

Analyst fear that a failure in the extension of OPEC oil  cut deal will see oil run into $40 per barrel or worse, while the World Bank projects $55 per barrel, if the deal is extended.

Nigeria, which currently pumps about two million barrels of oil per day, is seeking to be exempt from the new OPEC deal, which would be considered at the next ordinary meeting in Vienna.