Oil fell to 12 year lows on Thursday, briefly trading below $30 a barrel before recovering, as oversupply concerns continue to affect the market.

The global benchmark LCOc1 dropped as far as $29.73, the lowest since February 2004 and down more than 1.5 percent.

Analysts now expect the oil glut to persist throughout 2016 and on into 2017, with increased tensions between oil giants in the Middle East making it more and more unlikely that an OPEC deal on oversupply will be reached. To exacerbate the problem, United Nations’ nuclear watchdog is expected to confirm on Friday that Iran has curtailed its nuclear programme, and enabling sanctions against Tehran to be lifted – and allowing Iranian oil to flood the already crowded market.

WTI Crude is currently trading up 0.13 percent at $30.48 a barrel, with Brent Crude down 1.81 percent at $30.21 (1049GMT).

14/01/2016