Lower oil prices are aggravating financial and social stress in poorer OPEC states, particularly in Venezuela, where the government recently executed a gold-for-cash swap ahead of looming debt payments.

The remarkable admission by OPEC's secretary-general, Salem el-Badri, earlier this week that with "any increase in (oil's) price, shale will come immediately and cover any reduction" in output only hints at the larger impact of light…

Oil markets will continue to be buffeted by Russian overtures to OPEC suggesting a desire to orchestrate a production cut-back, while uncertainty over the Fed's next move keeps markets on edge.

The Fed will upset the rebalancing of oil markets if it misreads the current sell-off as weakness in oil demand.