Oil prices slid this evening after OPEC decided against cutting output further and as the cartel's kingpin Saudi Arabia said it ideally wanted $60-75 for a barrel of crude.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April shed $1.09 to $43.84 a barrel in London trade. At one point the contract was down over $2.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for April, dropped 40 cents to $45.85 a barrel, also after initial losses of more than $2.
Some analysts had expected the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to agree at a meeting in Vienna on Sunday to slash oil output in a bid to shore up prices.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said today that the 'ideal' price for oil lies between $60 and $75 a barrel. Nuaimi said such a price range was necessary to maintain the minimum viable levels of investment needed in the oil industry.
OPEC, which pumps about 40% of world crude, said it was delaying a move to slash output until at least May to give the Group of 20 rich and emerging nations time to respond to the economic crisis. G20 leaders are to meet next month in London to discuss tackling the global slowdown.
OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri explained that the cartel could effectively tighten conditions on the oil market by making sure member states fully adhered to cuts agreed last year.
OPEC had agreed three times late last year to slash its output, as crude prices slumped from peaks of more than $147 in July 2008 on tumbling demand because of the economic slowdown.
In December, OPEC had agreed to remove a record 2.2 million barrels per day from its output quota, bringing total planned cuts since September to 4.2 million barrels a day.
