New York, Dec 24 (EFE) .- The price of Texas intermediate oil (WTI) opened this Thursday with a decrease of 0.58%, to $ 47.84 a barrel, on a day with little volume of operations before the holiday of Christmas and with some investors guarding against the uncertainty around the stimulus package in the United States.
At 09.05 local time (14.05 GMT), WTI futures contracts for February delivery were down 28 cents from the close of the previous day.
After ending solid gains on Wednesday, benchmark crude in the United States was trending lower in a session that will be shorter than usual and ahead of a holiday in which markets will remain closed.
With few operations, the sales of some operators concerned about the fate of the $ 900 billion bailout approved by the US Congress and that the outgoing president, Donald Trump, has threatened to block, were noted.
Trump, who called the stimulus package “shameful” and demanded higher aid for citizens, is challenging his own party, which has been the most reluctant to give large direct payments to millions of taxpayers.
In fact, Democrats in the Lower House have already advanced that they will try to modify the package this Thursday to raise direct aid from $ 600 to $ 2,000, as Trump has claimed, although Republicans are expected to stop that initiative.
In addition, the market was still aware of the increase in coronavirus cases in the United States and Europe, which worries investors about the effects it may have on the demand for crude, which remains at low levels due to the pandemic.
On Wednesday, the price of oil had benefited from news of an unexpected drop in US oil and gasoline reserves, suggesting that fuel consumption is above expectations.
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