Brent Below $60 After Short Rally

Brent crude oil looked likely to finish the week below $60.00 as it was weighed down by supply outpacing demand. The commodity traded at $59.66 at 6:45 GMT as investors saw global producers maintaining their output into 2015.

This week Russian President Vladimir Putin assured markets that the Russian economy could withstand the drop in prices despite the ruble’s recent fall. Putin said he would restructure the economy in order to accept super low prices, and that Russia could withstand prices as low as $40 for up to two years if need be.

Putin’s decidedly resilient tone echoes that of Saudi Arabia, the OPEC member behind the group’s decision not to cut production. The Kingdom has said that it is willing to allow markets to dictate the price of oil and has issued discounts for Asian and US customers in order to gain market share.

The commodity also fell under some pressure after reports that Nigerian dock workers had ended their strike and reopened the nation’s ports. However Reuters reported that those particular workers were not in any way associated with the country’s oil exports.

Moving forward investors will be cautious as markets are still unsure as to where the bottom is for oil prices. Some analysts are predicting another major fall before the end of the year, while others expect the prices to remain near $60. Either way, most agree that with the current fundamentals, Brent crude oil is unlikely to rise much higher as the commodity has very few catalysts for growth.