Global oil prices continued to fall on Monday as Goldman Sachs slashed its 2015 price outlook.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs cut down its three-month price forecast for Brent to $US42 a barrel down from its previous estimates of $US80.

The analysts have set their forecast for US crude at $US41 ($49) a barrel, down from $US70, adding it would need to stay near $US40 for most of the first half of 2015 before it would hold up shale oil investments.

For February, the US crude oil futures fell 84 cents to $47.52 per barrel by 0437 GMT. The February Brent contract was down 80 cents at $49.31 a barrel, after trading more than $1 lower earlier in the session.

The analysts said, "To preserve all money sidelined and curtail financial commitment in shale till the sector has rebalanced, we believe that selling prices require to stay lower for a longer time".

The data revealed that there was a slight rise in new oil and gas well permits issued across the United States in December, after falling sharply in November on tumbling crude prices.

November's decline indicated towards a potential slowdown in the shale oil and gas boom that brought the United States into competition with Saudi Arabia for being the second largest crude producer behind Russia.
Refineries in Ohio and Pennsylvania were hit by fires over the weekend, which restrained the demand for crude in the US.

According to a statement by Venezuela on Sunday, it has considered to work with Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter in order to recover the oil market and oil prices 'with state policies' between the two countries.

However, Saudi Arabia said that it won't support oil price by cutting production. It ignored calls from smaller OPEC members, including Venezuela, to react to falling oil prices at a meeting of the cartel in November.