International oil prices continue to fall on the 15th

Due to the unexpected decline in industrial output in the United States last month and the persistence of European debt, international oil prices continued to fall on the 15th after the previous trading day fell sharply.

On the previous trading day, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to increase the oil production ceiling, seriously hitting the already fragile oil market, causing oil prices in New York and London to plummet. On the same day, the US Federal Reserve Board released data showing that US industrial output fell by 0.2% in November, which was lower than the market's expected increase of 0.1%, indicating that the manufacturing industry in the world’s largest oil consumer country has stagnated.

In addition, due to the EU summit failed to effectively boost market confidence, and the yield on the Italian five-year bond reached the highest level since the use of the euro, the debt crisis in Europe has persisted, suppressing market sentiment. Although demand for Spanish bond auctions was strong on that day, investors remained cautious.

However, other data released by the United States on the day were positive, limiting the drop in oil prices. According to data from the US Department of Labor, the initial jobless claims for the United States last week fell sharply for the second week to 36.6 million, the lowest level since May 2008, indicating a significant improvement in the US job market. At the same time, the index of manufacturing activity in the New York area rose in December.

By the close of the day, light crude oil prices for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.08 to settle at $93.87 a barrel, a decrease of 1.38%. The price of Brent crude oil in London's North Sea, which was delivered in January, rose slightly by 7 cents to close at 105.09 U.S. dollars per barrel and rose to 106.50 U.S. dollars per barrel. January ** expired on the same day, February ** fell 65 cents to close at $ 103.60 a barrel.