Oil futures closed the year at more-than five-year lows, as plentiful supplies and tepid demand continued to send prices plunging. Brent crude oil and gasoline futures both posted 48% losses in 2014, making them the worst performers among the 22 commodity markets tracked by the Bloomberg Commodity Index. U.S. oil futures dropped 46% in the year.
Brent crude futures settled down 57 cents, or 1%, at $57.33 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange, the lowest level since May 15, 2009.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February fell 85 cents, or 1.6%, to $53.27 a barrel, the lowest settlement since May 1, 2009.
Oil, gasoline and diesel markets all posted their largest annual losses since the global recession in 2008.
(Source: WSJ)
