LONDON, Nov 19: The price of oil tumbled by more than a dollar to fresh two-year lows on Monday, with no sign of a resolution to the price war brewing between major world crude producers loath to give up their market shares.

A barrel of Brent North Sea crude for January delivery had fallen by 1.04 dollars to 16.70 dollars by mid-afternoon. The last time prices were so low was in June 1999.

New York December-dated light sweet crude closed Friday at 18.03 dollars a barrel.

Few traders were anticipating a marked rebound in crude prices while the stand-off between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-members continues.

Opec energy chiefs shocked the market last week when they said they would not cut output again until rivals outside of the 11-nation club also make significant reductions in their volumes.

“Opec is sticking to its guns that they’re not going to act unless non-Opec does, so the market is off on the back of that,” said London-based dealer Adam Stone.

“The market is heading a lot lower than this unless something is done,” he predicted.

Key non-Opec producers, Russia and Norway, have thus far shown little appetite for output cuts, to the frustration of Opec.

While low oil prices are a timely boon to oil-importing countries in an economic slowdown, they are met with dismay by crude exporters that rely on crude revenues to keep their own economies motoring along.

“It is far from clear at the moment whether Opec or non-Opec producers will blink first, but one thing is certain, Opec has raised the tension between the two groups,” the Centre for Global Energy Studies said Monday.—AFP