Crude oil futures were driving toward their longest weekly loss streak since 1999 as the energy commodity lost value Friday, a consequence of speculation stating demand from the globe's two top consumers will fall, Bloomberg reports.
The U.S. and China, respectively the top and second-largest consumers of oil, each face notable economic developments this week. The U.S. Federal Reserve will not employ stimulus until assessing damages caused by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and China slashed interest rates earlier this week for the first time in four years.
"Finally the depth of the euro crisis is becoming clear," senior broker Christopher Bellew with Jefferies Bache in London told the news source. "We are now seeing the effects of a decade of financial imprudence in Europe, and the extent of the re-structuring that is required is becoming obvious. The desperate state that Europe is in will lead to significantly lower oil prices in the short term."
At 9:14 a.m. on Friday, crude oil futures fell 2.07 percent, a $2.07 loss to $97.86 per barrel.
The losses to the energy commodity come despite first-quarter gross domestic product growth in Japan, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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