Investing.com - Crude oil futures plunged on Wednesday as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to increase production and further debt woes from the euro zone.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for January settlement traded at USD95.12 a barrel during late U.S. trade, plummeting 5.12%.
It earlier hit a daily high of USD100.37 a barrel.
Strength in the U.S. dollar added to the bearish crude price environment. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, advanced 0.36% to trade at 81.25.
Dollar strength generally hurts commodity prices, as it lowers their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told reporters that he does not expect the European Union to impose sanctions against imports of his nation's oil, quashing supply disruption speculation.
However, U.S. crude oil supplies dropped 1.93 million barrels to 334.2 million, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
Todd Horwitz, chief strategist at Adam Mesh Trading Group, explained this apparent disconnect to Bloomberg, "It's pretty obvious that nobody cares about the inventory numbers right now. We are getting crushed across the board today. The euro is getting creamed by the dollar, which is bad for all commodities."
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery dropped 4.97% to trade at USD104.11 a barrel, up USD8.99 on its U.S. Counterpart.
This nearly USD10.00 spread has been narrowing recently, but is still historically high. The two contracts traditionally trade within USD1.00 of each other.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for January settlement traded at USD95.12 a barrel during late U.S. trade, plummeting 5.12%.
It earlier hit a daily high of USD100.37 a barrel.
Strength in the U.S. dollar added to the bearish crude price environment. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, advanced 0.36% to trade at 81.25.
Dollar strength generally hurts commodity prices, as it lowers their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told reporters that he does not expect the European Union to impose sanctions against imports of his nation's oil, quashing supply disruption speculation.
However, U.S. crude oil supplies dropped 1.93 million barrels to 334.2 million, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
Todd Horwitz, chief strategist at Adam Mesh Trading Group, explained this apparent disconnect to Bloomberg, "It's pretty obvious that nobody cares about the inventory numbers right now. We are getting crushed across the board today. The euro is getting creamed by the dollar, which is bad for all commodities."
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery dropped 4.97% to trade at USD104.11 a barrel, up USD8.99 on its U.S. Counterpart.
This nearly USD10.00 spread has been narrowing recently, but is still historically high. The two contracts traditionally trade within USD1.00 of each other.