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MTECHTIPS:-Crude falls to 12-year low as China sell-off exacerbates demand fears
Crude futures continued their prolonged slide on Thursday as North Sea brent futures fell to their lowest level in 12 years, when a massive sell-off in China hours earlier exacerbated fears of weakening demand among the world’s second-largest consumer of oil. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for February delivery traded in a broad range between $32.10 between $34.26 a barrel before settling at $33.28, down 0.69 or 2.02% on the session. At one point, U.S. crude futures hit their lowest level since late-2008 during the height of the Financial Crisis. Since eclipsing $38 a barrel on the first trading session of the year, the front month contract for WTI crude has closed in the red on four consecutive days, plunging by more than 11%. On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for February delivery wavered between $32.17 and $34.73 a barrel before closing at $33.77, down 0.46 or 1.36% on the day. At Thursday’s session lows, brent crude futures fell to their lowest level since 2004. Over the last month of trading, brent has plunged nearly 20% since OPEC roiled global markets by leaving its output quota unchanged at a closely-watched meeting in early-December. Brent traded at a premium of 0.49 over WTI at Thursday’s close, above Wednesday’s level of 0.16 at the end of trading. In overnight trading, China rattled global markets when its benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plummeted 7% within a half-hour of the start of trading, prompting its second circuit breaker in the span of four days. At 10.5 million barrels per day, China consumes more oil than any other nation in the world besides the U.S.
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