Oil declines to two-week low

Bloomberg

Oil slid to a two-week low and headed for its longest losing streak in two months as a plunge in US equities dragged other markets lower.
Crude futures in New York fell a third day, sliding as much as 1.3 percent. Stock indexes from Japan to Germany tumbled on Tuesday after a frantic sell-off in US shares sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its biggest loss in 6 1/2 years. Nonetheless, oil market conditions look “solid” thanks to production cuts by OPEC, according to Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent energy trader.
Oil is being swept into the global sell-off at a time when concerns are emerging that a rally in crude is overdone. Speculation is also rising that US shale production and stockpiles will undermine efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to trim a global glut. The number of rigs drilling for crude in America has jumped to the highest in almost six months, and US output breached 10 million barrels a day to the highest in more than 40 years in November.
“Oil prices could not escape the risk-off mood in financial markets,” said Norbert Ruecker, head of commodity research at Julius Bear Group Ltd. in Zurich.
West Texas Intermediate for March delivery dropped as much as 86 cents to $63.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since January 22.