Oil prices plunge on US shutdown and possible OPEC+ output boost

Oil prices slid for a third day in a row to a 16-week low on Wednesday as a US government shutdown fed worries about the global economy, while traders expected more oil supply to come on the market with a planned output boost by OPEC+ next month.

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Brent crude futures fell 68 cents, or 1%, to settle at $65.35 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 59 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $61.78.

Those were the lowest closes for Brent since June 5 and for WTI since May 30.

US oil production growth will stall if prices stay near $60 per barrel, as fewer drilling sites are profitable at that level, the chief executive officer of Diamondback Energy, one of the country’s top oil producers, said on Wednesday.

In other energy markets, US gasoline futures closed at their lowest in almost a year.