Brent crude slides below US$80 a barrel as Saudi Arabia steers clear from a price war

13-Nov-14

Benchmark Brent crude slid below US$80 a barrel, after Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister said the kingdom will not engage in a price war. Brent has plunged 30% from a June high above US$115 on worries of an oil glut. The market is also gloomy amid fears of a spike in US crude stockpiles. The US government's Energy Information Administration will issue on Thursday official inventory data for last week. The only supportive factor for oil was news that an attempt to restart Libya's largest oilfield, El Sharara, had been abandoned on Wednesday due to a blocked pipeline. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded below US$77.