Investing.com - Oil prices tumbled to lows not seen in five years on Friday amid perceptions that a global supply glut may stick around for much longer than once anticipated.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for delivery in January traded down 3.02% at $58.14 a barrel during U.S. trading, up from a session low of $57.36 a barrel and off a high of $59.55 a barrel.
The January contract settled down 1.62% at $59.95 a barrel on Thursday.
Support for the commodity was seen at $56.07 a barrel, the low from May 15, 2009, and resistance at $73.56 a barrel, the high from Nov. 28.
Oil prices have been falling in recent months on concerns that supply far outstrips demand, and a recent OPEC decision to leave output unchanged has exacerbated losses.
Don't expect the supply glut to abate anytime soon, the International Energy Agency said in its December report released earlier, as more oil is still in the global pipeline.
"Barring a disorderly production response, it may well take some time for supply and demand to respond to the price rout," the IEA said in its report.
"When it comes to supply, lower oil prices are already slashing producers' spending, but this is more likely to affect medium- and long-term output than short-term supplies. So long is the lead of oil projects that price swings can take time to work their way through to supply. Projects that have already been funded will for the most part go on."
Non-OPEC countries will also contribute to global supply.
The IEA also said it had cut its 2015 global oil demand growth forecast by 230,000 barrels per day to 0.9 million bpd.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for January delivery were down 2.44% at US$62.13 a barrel, while the spread between Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $3.99.