The oil market fell on Friday after Saudi Arabia slashed the price of the crude it sells to Asia and the US, analysts said.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January fell 50 cents to stand at $69.14 per barrel in early afternoon London deals, reported AFP.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for December slipped 56 cents to $66.25 compared with Thursday’s closing value.

“Saudi Arabia has just cut the price of the oil it sells to Asia and the US and this is going to have a big effect on the market,” said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at broker Phillip Futures.

Saudi Aramco said Thursday it had slashed its official selling price for Arab light grade oil bound for Asia in January by $1.90 a barrel from December’s level.

It also reduced the price of Arab light grade oil bound for the United States by 70 cents. “They’re definitely fighting for market share,” Ang told AFP.

French bank Credit Agricole said lower prices should give emerging markets a boost.

“Oil-intensive economies, including the bulk of Asia, would benefit from lower inflation, larger monetary leeway to support the recovery, and lower corporate and household costs,” it said.

“Against such a backdrop this could support a scenario of a slight recovery in emerging market GDP growth in 2015.”

Separately on Friday, a Norwegian consulting firm predicted that the continued fall of oil prices could lead to postponement of $150 billion worth of projects in the sector worldwide.

“Everything will depend on what oil companies decide to do, but if they don’t exploit the fields which break even with the barrel above $80, $150 billion will go down the drain,” chief analyst at Rystad Energy, Per Magnus Nysveen, told AFP.

Plunging oil prices, combined with high production costs, force oil companies to postpone or even cancel developments of oil finds in order to maintain their cash flow.