NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil price sank Friday as industrial production in the world's largest oil consumer decreased surprisingly in January.
U.S. Industrial production edged down 0.1 percent in January after having risen 0.4 percent in December, the Federal Reserve said Friday. The figure fell short of market estimates, spurring investors' worries about the prospect of global oil demand.
Separately, the New York Federal Reserve showed Friday that conditions for New York manufactures in February improved for the first time since the summer of last year. But the news failed to push the oil price into positive territory.
There was also talk of long liquidation selling coming into the market ahead of a three-day holiday weekend in the United States, which added to the downside pressure for U.S. crude price.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost 1.45 dollars, or 1. 49 percent to settle at 95.86 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, the oil price still gained 0.15 percent.
Brent crude for April delivery also fell and last traded around 117 dollars a barrel and was on track for its first weekly loss in over one month.
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