Oil price steadies after falling below $28 a barrel

The oil price has recovered slightly after earlier falling below $28 a barrel, as Opec predicts crude will mount a recovery this year.
Brent crude, used as an international benchmark, fell as low as $27.67 a barrel, its lowest since 2003, before recovering to trade at $28.86.
The price of US crude was $29.65 a barrel after hitting $28.36.
Investors fear the lifting of Western sanctions on Iran could worsen the existing oversupply problem.
Iran’s deputy oil minister Roknoddin Javadi has expressed confidence the country can produce an extra 500,000 barrels per day.
Phillip Futures analyst Daniel Ang said the earlier price drop was due to concerns about Iran. “This means we will be seeing a bigger oil glut with Iranian crude exports coming back to the market,” he said.
However, oil producers’ group Opec said in its January market report that it expected to see the price of crude begin a rebalancing process in 2016.
The group forecast that in the next six months non-Opec members would be unable to sustain production because of the continuing low oil price. -BBC