Crude oil prices for December delivery extended their losses Thursday on word from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries demand will slump.
Brent crude oil for December delivery fell nearly 50 cents in early trading Thursday to trade at $82.50, more than 20 percent below the June price.
Crude oil is in a bear market because the slow pace of economic recovery means less demand in a market oversupplied with oil from U.S. shale.
OPEC in its annual outlook report said energy supply and demand trends are having a major impact on oil markets. For demand "the center of gravity" is shifting to Asia, while output increases in North America.
"The pace of capacity additions seems to be higher than what is needed to cover demand, at least in the medium term," the report read.
Crude oil prices have fallen to the point that major oil companies are cutting back their investment strategies to weather the storm.
Globally, Austrian energy company OMV said it would have to cut its investment outlook because of the decline in oil prices. In the United States, where shale extraction costs more than in OPEC nations, Continental Resources said it too was feeling the pain.
The December contract for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, shed more than $1 per barrel to trade at $77.60 early Thursday.
For the trading day, WTI doesn't recover above $80 until the December 2018 contract.
