Oil Futures Prices Decline

Oil futures prices, responding to the breakup of the OPEC meeting in Geneva, plunged to $11 a barrel Monday and sent tremors into other exchanges. “The markets took a hard look at what OPEC actually did as opposed to what it wanted to do and found it wanting,” said Charles T. Maxwell, an analyst in New York with Cyrus J. Lawrence Inc.

Treasury bond futures soared higher and precious metals went into a slump, both reacting to the further decline in energy prices.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ended nine days of negotiations with no agreement on how to limit worldwide production and raise prices. Oil ministers from 13 nations will renew their efforts in meetings beginning April 15.

With the announcement Monday morning, “there was a lot of panic selling right off the bat” at the New York Mercantile Exchange, said Peter Beutel, an analyst in New York with Rudolf Wolff Energy.

Both analysts said the odds seemed to be against any meaningful agreement coming out of the April meeting.