The price of a barrel of Brent fell below $50

The price of Brent crude on the ICE exchange fell below $50. At 19:10 Moscow time, it was trading at $49.95 per barrel, and two minutes later - at $49.86.

The last time a barrel of Brent was below $50 was in January 2015. Before that, oil was so cheap at the turn of 2008-2009.

Analysts expected that the price of Brent would fall to this level only by December 2015. It is expected that soon Iran will be able to supply oil to the international market, which should lead to lower prices. Moreover, Iran has promised to significantly increase oil production after sanctions are lifted from it.

• in June 2015 Bloomberg wrote that oil supplies to the world market have exceeded demand for five consecutive quarters, a record since 1997.