International oil prices fell sharply on the 23rd

Sinochem New Online News was affected by the economic outlook of Europe and the United States. International oil prices fell sharply on the 23rd.

Although the data released by the US Energy Information Administration showed that the US commercial crude oil inventories unexpectedly decreased by 6.2 million barrels last week, and fell to the lowest level since January last year, it still did not stop the decline in oil prices.

On the same day, the German bond auction was unexpectedly subjected to cold weather and the demand was weak, triggering market panic. At the same time, Fitch has warned that the European debt crisis has begun to ** to France's 3A sovereign credit rating. The spread of the debt crisis to the core European countries has escalated the challenges faced by the European economic outlook.

At the same time, economic data also shows that the euro zone's economic growth is weak. In November, the Eurozone purchasing managers’ index rose slightly from 46.5 in October to 47.2, and was below 50 for three consecutive months, indicating that manufacturing activity has continued to shrink.

The euro thus plunged to the lowest level in the last two months against the US dollar, which added pressure on the dollar-denominated crude oil.

U.S. economic data is also not optimistic. According to data from the US Department of Commerce, consumer spending growth slowed in October, contributing to the economic recovery. At the same time, data from the Ministry of Labor showed that the number of initial jobless claims in the United States increased slightly by 2,000 last week, ending the steady decline in two months. China's manufacturing activity index hit a record low of 32 months, adding to the outlook for crude oil demand.

However, the situation in the Middle East continues to fluctuate, providing some support for oil prices and limiting the drop in oil prices.

At the close of the day, the price of light crude oil for delivery in January on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.84 to close at $96.17 per barrel, a decrease of 1.88%. January London Brent crude oil prices fell 2.01 US dollars to close at 107.02 US dollars per barrel, a decrease of 1.84%.