U.S. crude hits 5-year low, tumbles 10% to settle at $66.15; gold falls 1.8%

New York (Nov 28)  traded oil finished at its lowest since September 2009, bringing monthly losses to 18 percent, after OPEC refrained from cutting output to ease a global glut.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January shed $7.54, 10 percent to finish at $66.15 a barrel, the lowest settlement for a front-month oil contract since Sept. 25, 2009.

November losses were the steepest one-month percentage decline since December 2008. On the week, futures declined nearly 14 percent.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries kept its production ceiling unchanged, underscoring the price war in the crude market and challenge to U.S. shale drillers.

Crude has collapsed into a bear market amid the fastest pace of U.S. production in three decades, rising output from OPEC and signs of weakening global demand.

In metals trading, gold neared a two-week low today as weaker oil prices and a firmer dollar pressured investors’ appetites for protection from inflation.

The most actively traded contract, for February delivery, fell 1.8 percent to settle at $1,175.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was the lowest settlement level since Nov. 13, when prices closed at $1,161.50 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose versus commodity currencies such as the Canadian dollar and Norwegian crown on OPEC's decision not to reduce output.

The stronger dollar weighs on gold and other greenback-traded commodities as it makes them more expensive to holders of other currencies.

Silver was down 4.3 percent at $15.52 an ounce after tumbling as much as 5 percent, while spot platinum was down 0.8 percent at $1,201.70 an ounce.

Spot palladium bucked the trend, up 0.5 percent at $808 an ounce.

Source: ProactiveInvestors