The effects of the dramatic drop in the price of both Ice March
Brent, the international oil marker, and its US counterpart Nymex
March West Texas Intermediate, have been widespread. This is
impacting not only the oil services industry, where many firms have
cut their capital budgets as well as jobs, but also a number of
markets across the world. The commodities market, in particular,
has been widely affected with the prices of metals such as copper,
lead and nickel dropping, albeit not as dramatically as oil, and
the price of gold increasing.
In passing, it is worth noting that the death of King Abdullah
in January 2015 prompted some investors to bet on a change in
strategy as a result of the change in the leadership of Saudi
Arabia, OPEC's largest producer and de facto leader, with Crown
Prince Salman succeeding King Abdullah. However, many analysts
expect King Salman and Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's oil
minister, to stand by the existing Saudi oil policy, at least
