Zhitong Finance APP learned that oil prices fell on Wednesday, and WTI crude oil futures in January closed down 3.72% at US$77.94/barrel; the deepest intraday drop was 5.1% and fell below US$77, the lowest since September 27. Brent crude oil futures for January closed down 3.34% at $85.41/barrel; the deepest intraday drop was 4.8% and pushed down to $84, also hitting a low in nearly two months.
On the news, the European Union and the Group of Seven are considering imposing a price cap of US$65-70 per barrel on Russian seaborne oil, which is much higher than the cost of Russian oil and may make Russian oil supply continue to flow into the global market. It is reported that the current trading price of Urals crude oil shipped to northwest Europe is about 62-63 US dollars per barrel.
At the same time, the OECD predicts that the global economy may slow down sharply next year. In addition, the U.S. EIA crude oil inventory fell by nearly 3.7 million barrels last week, which was not as good as the previous value, and gasoline and refined oil inventories increased more than expected. The market is concerned about the outlook for crude oil demand. Elsewhere, a report showing crude stockpiles at the U.S. Cushing, Oklahoma, Cushing, U.S. storage hub fell to a two-month low, but the bullish report drew little attention.
Affected by the sharp drop in oil prices, U.S. energy stocks were among the top losers. Nine of the 12 stocks that fell the most in the S&P 500 on Wednesday came from the energy sector: Schlumberger (SLB.US) fell 4.14%, ConocoPhillips (COP.US) fell 2.49%, Halliburton (HAL .US) fell 2.38%, Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US) fell 2.27%, Baker Hughes (BRK.US) fell 2.24%, Hess (HES.US) fell 2.17%, Apache Petroleum (APA.US) It fell 2.09%, Valero Energy (VLO.US) fell 1.95%, and Marathon Petroleum (MRO.US) fell 1.73%.