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NYMEX Crude $ 34.74 UP $.0001
NY Harbor ULSD $1.1004 DN $.0067
NYMEX Gasoline $1.2094 DN $.0652

NEWS
The global oil benchmark closed at its lowest level in more than 11 years Monday as fears over a global glut of crude and uncertain demand kept pressure on most of the hard-hit energy complex.

On the bright side, natural-gas futures bucked the gloom in the wake of forecasts for cooler U.S. weather. Brent futures for February delivery on London’s ICE exchange fell 53 cents, or 1.4%, to finish at $36.35 a barrel—the lowest settlement since July 5, 2004, according to Dow Jones.

The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate fell 25 cents, or 0.7%, to end at $35.81 a barrel. trade at $35.73 a barrel for February delivery. February is the most active futures contract. The January WTI crude contract which expired Monday, gained one cent to close at $34.74 a barrel. “On the supply side, U.S. shale oil continues to flood the market and traders fear the influx of Iranian oil after sanctions are lifted next year,” said Matt Weller, senior market analyst at Forex.com, in a note. “Meanwhile, the economic slowdown in China and Europe, as well as warm global temperatures as a result of climate change and a relatively warm El Niño conditions in the U.S., have reduced demand,” Weller added. “This toxic one-two blow to oil bulls shows no sign of relenting and could be a major theme to watch in the first half of 2016,” he said.

Exactly how low oil prices will continue to fall isn’t clear with some industry analysts such as U.S. bank Goldman Sachs insisting $20 oil is possible in 2016. Some others believe if Brent drops by another $1.50 a barrel, it could trigger traders and money managers to enter the market, in turn kick-starting a mini rally. The global oversupply issue has now become so acute that analysts at U.K. bank Barclays said it was possible daily surplus could “overwhelm” available storage capacity. “While the oil market is expected to remain in surplus through 2016, the rate of stock builds is expected to slow, and there is enough onshore storage to contain it, in our view,” the bank says in a note.

The U.S. shale-oil sector continues to confound its doubters. Data showed that the number of rigs rose by 17 last week, suggesting the predicted free fall in production that was forecast for early 2016 won’t occur, with a much longer production tail-off more likely. U.S. oil production is expected to fall from its current levels of about 9.1 million barrels a day to 8.6 million barrels a day by mid-2016.