CME/Nymex December crude shed $2.93 to close at $84.88/bbl

摘要

Oil took its worst drubbing in nearly a month, bottoming out at an intraday low of $84.52 a barrel, following a sell-off in foreign equities markets, which was sparked by conjecture that China will raise interest rates, limiting demand growth in the region. The weakness was also derived from profit taking following Thursday's run-up to a week high $88.63/bbl. In spite of today’s sell-off, prices could resume an upward trend next week as outlooks suggest an increase in global demand. According to the most recent International Energy Agency report, global oil demand will climb by 2.3 million barrels a day to 87.3 million this year. That’s up 200,000 barrels from the projection in October. Chinese consumption will climb 800,000 barrels a day to 9.2 million in 2010, the report showed.