Oil prices lost more value than any other commodity last year, the U.S. government said, and are moving closer to historic lows in Monday trading.
The price for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil index, was off more than 3.5 percent from the previous session to trade at just below the $51-per-barrel mark in early trading for the February contract. That's nearly 50 percent off the June high-water mark.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil and petroleum products during the last four months of 2014 lost more value than any other commodity trading in the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index.
"In 2014, the energy component of the GSCI fell 43 percent from the start of the year," EIA said in a Monday brief.
WTI prices are at the point where some drillers working in U.S. shale basins may be facing tightened purse strings. Year-on-year trends show increased activity in the United States, though the latest data from oil services company Baker Hughes show the industry is starting to slow down.
The price for Brent, the global benchmark, was down 3.6 percent from the previous session to trade at $54.37 per barrel for the February contract. Globally, the bear market for crude oil is spilling over to influence investor confidence in Middle East markets.
The stock index for Dubai lost more than 3 percent. Asian markets rallied, however, with the Shanghai Composite Index up 3.6 percent at the closing bell.
