Plunging oil prices, triggered after OPEC members decided not to cut oil output despite a glut, have sent the energy sector into a nose-dive, dragging the Australian sharemarket over one-and-a-half per cent lower at the close. At the 4.15pm (AEDT) official market close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had lost 87.9 points, or 1.63 per cent, to 5,313, while the broader All Ordinaries index gave up 83.3 points, or 1.55 per cent, to 5,298.1. OPEC decided against cutting the amount of oil it produces, triggering a five-dollar collapse in crude prices. Londons Brent North Sea crude for January delivery plummeted $US6.50, or 8.3 per cent, to $US71.25 -- a four-year trough -- causing a sell-off in energy stocks on the local market, dropping 7.64 per cent as a sector.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 08:14:38 +0000
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