Oil is plummeting after getting hit with a one-two punch
West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down 3.2% at $44.84 per barrel after getting hit by a one-two punch of bad news. First, Bloomberg reported that a member of the Saudi delegation said he does not expect an oil production freeze agreement to be reached at next week's meeting in Algiers, Algeria.
There has been hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran would be able to overcome their differences and agree on a freeze. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia offered to reduce its oil production if Iran agreed to put a cap on its own output. At the time, Iran had not yet accepted or rejected the deal.
Then, the Federal Reserve Board said it was inviting public comment on a proposed rule that would make it harder for banks to trade physical commodities. In addition to requiring the banks to hold more capital for activities involving commodities, banks would also be required to tighten the amount of commodities they could hold. The comment period is open for 90 days.
Whoosh.
