Finland Times

Crude prices rebounded Friday from a five-year low as investors started to buy after sharp declines.

     Friday's rebound came after reports saying some energy companies have scrambled to adjust output in the face of uncertain outlook. Oil prices plunged to the five-year low Thursday as there was no sign that producers would cut output in response to the slump.  

     Ali Al-Naimi, the oil minister of Saudi Arabia, said Thursday that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would find it difficult to give up market share by cutting crude production, according to Saudi Press Agency.

     Russia Energy Minister Alexander Novak said early this week that crude output from Russia, the world's largest crude producer, will be similar to this year's 10.6 million barrels a day in 2015.

     "The price will stabilize itself. Some investment projects by oil companies may be reconsidered, but so far they have not adjusted anything," Novak told reporters at a meeting in Doha, Qatar this week.

     The crude prices were also weighed the U.S. oil boom that has been driven by the technology of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. U.S. crude output reached 9.137 million barrels per day last week, the highest level since 1983, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

     Light, sweet crude for January delivery moved up 2.41 U.S. dollars to settle at 56.52 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery gained 2.11 dollars to close at 61.38 dollars a barrel.