West Texas Intermediate tumbled below $65 a barrel to the lowest level since July 2009 amid speculation prices have further to drop before OPEC's decision to maintain output slows U.S. shale supply.
Benchmark futures in New York and London slumped more than 3 percent after capping their biggest monthly loss in about six years as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries signaled the group will leave it to the market to reduce a global glut. Current prices are no guarantee of a significant decline in U.S. shale output, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in an interview on Nov. 28.
The Swiss National Bank will defend its cap on the franc via currency interventions and is prepared to take additional steps if needed.
"The SNB will continue to enforce the minimum exchange rate with the utmost determination and is prepared to buy foreign currency in unlimited quantities," the central bank, based in Bern and Zurich, said in a statement yesterday. "The SNB will take further measures immediately if required."
The comment came in response to voters rejecting an initiative that would have required the SNB to hold at least 20 percent of its assets in gold. The central bank said it was "pleased to hear" of yesterday's referendum outcome.
(Reuters) - With the U.S. economy humming along at its fastest clip in more than a decade, the Federal Reserve should be confident about its ability to weather a global slowdown and start lifting interest rates around the middle of next year.
But then there is inflation.
Interviews with Fed officials and those familiar with its thinking show the mood inside is more somber than the central bank's reassuring statements and evidence of robust economic health would suggest. The reason is the central bank's failure to nudge price growth up to its 2 percent target and, more importantly, signs that investors and consumers are losing faith it can get there any time soon.