US crude futures settle at $77.37

<p>The price of crude oil futures are settling at $77.37. That's down $3.45 or -4.27%. The decline is the largest sense October 4 when the price fell -5.57%.</p><p>The price fell below its 200-day moving average is $78.14 and traded to the lowest level since July 24. </p><p>The price closed at $80.42 at the end of 2022. The high price for the year reached $94.99 on September 28 while the low price on May 5 reached $63.61.</p><ul><li>Initially, weak Chinese activity data negatively influenced market sentiment.</li><li>The stronger US Dollar added to the downward pressure on oil prices.</li><li>In Europe, soft German industrial production data hurt the demand side.</li><li>The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revised its 2023 world oil demand growth forecast, reducing it by 300,000 barrels per day (BPD) to a year-on-year increase of 1.46 million BPD. However, the EIA did increase its 2024 forecast by 80,000 BPD to a year-on-year increase of 1.40 million BPD.</li></ul><p>Despite the declines,</p><ul><li>Saudi Aramco's CFO remained optimistic about global oil demand recovery, especially in China and India.</li></ul>

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.