The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Monthly Oil Market Report, October 2008: “The Monthly Oil Market Report contains a wealth of information, including developments in the world economy, data on oil prices, supply and demand, crude and product stocks and much more.”

Feature Article – Financial turmoil impacting market fundamentals:” Crude oil prices have continued to plunge in recent weeks, down from the record highs seen in mid-July. Benchmark WTI crude has fallen by half to below $80/b earlier this week. With the recent sharp declines, crude oil prices now stand close to the levels seen in September of last year.

The ongoing downward trend in crude oil prices reflects the dramatically worsening conditions in global financial markets in recent weeks and their negative impact on the real economy, as well as the decline in the demand for oil. As attempts multiply to stabilize financial markets, coordinated efforts among central banks and governments are crucial. Even if governments are successful in calming equity markets and unfreezing credit markets in the near future, the fallout on the real economy from the financial market headwinds is expected to be considerable. This comes on top of the already visibly weakening of OECD economies and a deceleration of growth in emerging markets.

There is mounting evidence that the US economy might already be in the midst of a recession the depth and length of which remain to be seen. The same applies to the EU and Japan, which have already witnessed a contraction in GDP in the second quarter. Recent indicators point to further contraction ahead. Although emerging market economies have until lately appeared to be partly shielded from significant economic contagion, equity markets in these countries have suffered greater losses than in the advanced economies this year and their currency markets have recently been experiencing considerable volatility. However, it is expected that the damage to their economic growth can be contained if markets stabilize in the coming weeks. All these events are expected to impact different aspects of the oil market, including demand for crude and products, particularly in OECD countries and to a lesser extent in emerging market economies.”