NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices plummeted on Tuesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed Saudi Arabia as "a great ally" and signaled it won't punish Saudi crown prince over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing.
Trump said in a statement released by the White House that "it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event -- maybe he did and maybe he didn't."
"The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region," he said.
Trump also said that Saudi Arabia has "worked closely with us and have been very responsive to my requests to keeping oil prices at reasonable levels."
Trump's remarks came two weeks ahead of a meeting between Saudi-led OPEC and world's other oil producers to discuss about potential output cut and potential global oil policy in December, in a bid to grapple with the current supply glut worrying investors.
Trump, via Twitter last week, voiced opposition against cutting oil production by Saudi Arabia and OPEC, saying that "oil prices should be much lower based on supply."
However, analysts cast doubt over whether Riyadh would back Trump in maintaining the current oil production level, at a time when fears over supply surplus has been weighing on oil prices continuously.
The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery slumped 3.33 U.S. dollars to settle at 53.43 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery plunged 4.26 dollars to close at 62.53 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem
