Brent oil price dives below critical $40 a barrel mark

ANKARA

Brent crude oil price dived below $40 per barrel mark on Tuesday with OPEC's decision to not declare an official quota last Friday along with the glut of global oil supply retaining a bearish sentiment in the market.

This is the lowest price level for Brent crude in the last seven years since February 2009.

The price of the global benchmark dived below the critical threshold of $40 per barrel mark at 1:44 p.m. GMT on Tuesday to reach as low as $39.90 a barrel before 2:00 p.m. GMT. The price recorded a 2.4 percent daily decline, after it opened the day at $40.87 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the American benchmark West Texas Intermediate recorded the lowest price since February 2009 and dived below $37 per barrel on Tuesday to reach as low as $36.65 a barrel. The price recorded a 3 percent decrease, after it opened the day at $37.78 a barrel, according to official figures.

Oil prices are in free fall since late Friday when OPEC decided to not declare an official quota in Vienna, but instead announced a continuance of actual production levels.

In addition to the extra supplies from OPEC, crude stocks in the U.S. have also increased for ten consecutive weeks, adding to the glut of oil around the world. This surplus supply has increased the downward pressure on oil prices, and retained a bearish outlook in the market.

Total oil production in the world exceeds global oil demand by around 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day at the moment.