Oil nears $60

NEW YORK: Oil prices tumbled 5 percent on Wednesday, pushing US crude to five-year lows near $60 a barrel after data showed a spike in US inventories.
Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al Naimi, however, reiterated that he has no plans to cut output.
Global benchmark Brent crude prices have nearly halved since hitting a June high above $115 as rising US output and waning demand growth generated a supply surplus that the world’s biggest oil exporter is unwilling to absorb. Further losses could be in store if US oil drops below the psychologically key $60 mark.
Al-Naimi, in Peru, shrugged off suggestions that the Kingdom might cut output, sticking to his comments from two weeks ago in Vienna, where he first said that the market would be left to correct itself. The Kingdom has maintained production at between 9.6 million and 9.7 million bpd in November, he said, adding: “That is not going to change unless other customers come and say they want more oil.”