US oil companies shares fell Monday after Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi called on...
US oil companies shares fell Monday after Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi called on OPEC members to increase production to make oil prices fall.
Oil futures slipped more than a dollar a barrel in early trade as he said OPEC should boost production by 1.5 million bpd, (6 per cent), because today?s high oil prices may harm global economic growth.
People are worrying that oil prices, which rose above $40 Friday, cannot stay at these levels. Oil was down 53 cents at $39.40 early Monday afternoon.
Investors sent XTO Energy fell $2.04, or 7.5 percent, to $25.02, while Devon Energy declined $3.18, or 5.1 percent, to $59.25 a share. Major U.S. integrated oils Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco and ConocoPhillips all fell about 3 percent.
In Canada, the Toronto Stock Exchange oil and gas group fell 3 percent to 165.2 points and dragged down Toronto's main stock index.
"If OPEC produces a million and a half barrels more, where does oil go? Back to $20? No," said Peters & Co. analyst Brian Prokop. "If oil even goes down to $30, there's still good value in the large-cap names."
