Add Dennis Gartman, editor of The Gartman Letter, to the list of those who think OPEC is becoming irrelevant.
The cartel's inability to agree on production cuts at its meeting last month helped oil prices extend their plunge to five-year lows. With oil output rising outside OPEC, especially in the United States, its influence has been lessened, experts say.
"I really do think that we have seen the end of OPEC as a viable entity,"
Gartman told CNBC. "I think it's still broken. We'll see what happens a year from now but I honestly think that OPEC, as it has been in the past, is a finished issue."
The conflict between Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members, including Iran, Venezuela and Ecuador, that were eager to slash production is what's doing OPEC in, Gartman said.
"[Now] they [OPEC] are doing exactly what the Saudis want to be done, as the Saudis continue to defend their market share so that they can put pressure on their enemies the Iranians, their other enemies of ancient times, the Russians and their new enemies, the frackers [U.S. shale oil producers]," he explained.
When it comes to stocks, Gartman advised investors to "go to the sidelines" amid market uncertainty.
"The bulls are taking money off the table because they want to protect what they have, the bears are finally saying: 'You know what, I'm taking my money off the table because I'm not going to punt and try to make my money back'. And illiquidity seems to reign,"
Investors should "make your positions smaller — but to try to play catch up is probably ill-advised."
Meanwhile, CNBC Senior Contributor Larry Kudlow, says the almost-40-percent drop in oil prices since late June will buoy the economy.
"This is a gigantic tax cut for the American economy," he told
Newsmax TV.
"It's not a marginal tax rate reduction, I'm just saying it has the same impact. People will have much more disposable income to spend on other goods and services, and the middle class needs that because they've not had big wage gains."
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