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| Oil prices hit fresh four-year lows in wake of Opec meeting | Oil prices hit fresh four-year lows in wake of Opec meeting |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Oil prices hit a four-year low in the wake of the decision by the Opec producers' cartel not to cut output. | Oil prices hit a four-year low in the wake of the decision by the Opec producers' cartel not to cut output. |
| Brent crude touched a new four-year low of $71.12 a barrel early on Friday, before recovering to trade around $73. | |
| The price of Brent had dived by more than $5 a barrel on Thursday after Opec announced no change to its production plans following a meeting in Vienna. | The price of Brent had dived by more than $5 a barrel on Thursday after Opec announced no change to its production plans following a meeting in Vienna. |
| The 12 Opec members decided to maintain production at 30 million barrels per day, as first agreed in December 2011. | The 12 Opec members decided to maintain production at 30 million barrels per day, as first agreed in December 2011. |
| The price of US oil fell to $67.75 a barrel - the lowest level since May 2010. | The price of US oil fell to $67.75 a barrel - the lowest level since May 2010. |
| Following the meeting in Vienna, Opec's secretary general Abdallah Salem el-Badri said the group would not try to bolster prices by cutting output. | Following the meeting in Vienna, Opec's secretary general Abdallah Salem el-Badri said the group would not try to bolster prices by cutting output. |
| "There's a price decline. That does not mean that we should really rush and do something," he said. | "There's a price decline. That does not mean that we should really rush and do something," he said. |
| 'Dramatic change' | 'Dramatic change' |
| The price of Brent crude has now fallen by more than a third since June, with sluggish global demand and rising production from the US being blamed for the decline. | The price of Brent crude has now fallen by more than a third since June, with sluggish global demand and rising production from the US being blamed for the decline. |
| "Welcome to the new world of oil," said Michael Wittner, senior oil analyst at Societe Generale. | "Welcome to the new world of oil," said Michael Wittner, senior oil analyst at Societe Generale. |
| "Saudi Arabia and Opec will no longer be the mechanism to balance the market, they have relinquished that role." | "Saudi Arabia and Opec will no longer be the mechanism to balance the market, they have relinquished that role." |
| "Instead, the market itself - prices, in other words - will be the mechanism to rebalance the market. We cannot overstate what a dramatic and fundamental change this is for the oil market." | "Instead, the market itself - prices, in other words - will be the mechanism to rebalance the market. We cannot overstate what a dramatic and fundamental change this is for the oil market." |
| The falling oil price continued to hit shares in energy stocks on Friday. with shares in oil giants BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total all down by more than 3%. | The falling oil price continued to hit shares in energy stocks on Friday. with shares in oil giants BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total all down by more than 3%. |
| Shares in airline companies, however, rose on hopes that they will face lower fuel bills. | Shares in airline companies, however, rose on hopes that they will face lower fuel bills. |