The price of the barrel of Texas intermediate oil (WTI) opened this Wednesday down 3.34%, to US$67.14 a barrel, with investors worried about the votes on the debt ceiling in the United States and a new contraction of manufacturing activity in China, which is the main importer of crude oil.
At 09:00 local time (13:00 GMT), the futures contracts of the WTI for delivery in July they lost US$2.32 compared to the close of the previous day.
The US benchmark oil price collapsed the day before by 4.4% and closed at $69.46 the barrel, again losing the psychological barrier of the $70its lowest level since the beginning of this month.
The merchants Oil companies are watching the progress of the draft to increase the debt ceiling in the United States, which if not approved could lead to a default on their commitments.
This Tuesday the agreement reached over the weekend between republicans and democrats it overcame its first legislative stumbling block after a committee of the Lower House allowed its debate as of today in Congress.
Legislators have until 5th June to approve the measure in both chambers, the date on which the Treasury Department calculates that the country will exhaust its reserves.
In addition, next Sunday the oil-producing countries and their partners will meet (OPEC+) in a highly anticipated meeting after Saudi Arabia suggested the possibility of a new production cut and Russia ruled it out.
To this uncertainty has been added today that the activity in the manufacturing industry of China it contracted again in May after having done so in April for the first time this year.
He purchasing manager index (PMI, reference indicator of the manufacturing sector) published today by the National Statistics Office (ONE) stood at 48.8 points, below the 49.2 in April.
In this indicator, a mark above the threshold of 50 points represents a growth of activity in the sector compared to the previous month, while one below represents a contraction.
“The level of economic prosperity China has regressed and the foundations for recovery and development still need consolidation,” said ONE statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Also today, the United States Energy Information Agency will report on the evolution of crude oil inventories in the country for the past week, which offers a vision of the evolution of supply and demand.