Oil prices plunge amid global glut

Oil prices plummeted Monday amid growing supplies from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Iraq Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said Sunday his country planned to expand crude exports to 3.3 million barrels a day this month. The country exported 2.94 million barrels a day in December, the most since the 1980s.

OPEC decided to maintain its collective output quota at 30 million barrels a day at the Nov. 27 meeting in Vienna. There was no sign that the group would cut production in response to the slump.

OPEC's production slid by 122,000 barrels a day from November to 30.24 million last month, according to a survey of Bloomberg.

U.S. crude production reached 9.121 million barrels a day in the week ended Dec. 26. Traders believed that U.S. production and inventories are still at a pretty high level.

Crude prices lost also as the U.S. dollar appreciated against the euro amid investor concern that Greece might leave the currency union. A stronger greenback makes the dollar-priced crude more expensive and less attractive for buyers holding other currencies.

The recently released negative economic data also dragged the crude prices down. The U.S. Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped 3.2 points from the previous month's reading to 55.5 in December of 2014, the slowest monthly growth pace in six months, said the Institute for Supply Management Friday.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery lost 2.65 U.S. dollars to settle at 50.04 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery decreased 3.31 dollars to close at 53.11 dollars a barrel.