Oil prices drop the most in 3 weeks after the Fed's decision

Crude oil prices on the world market fell sharply, hitting a three-week low after the US Federal Reserve (FED) decided to keep interest rates unchanged.

Oil prices fell the most after the Fed's decision not to raise interest rates.

US oil prices fell nearly 5% as US energy companies reduced the number of rigs drilling for a third straight week, the latest sign that lower prices are causing drillers to delay plans to resume drilling that were announced months ago.

According to oil services company Baker Hughes, the number of rigs drilling in the US decreased by 8 rigs in the week ended September 18, after decreasing by 23 rigs in the previous two weeks, bringing the current total to 644 rigs.

The rig count fell amid growing concerns about the outlook for global energy demand and turmoil in major economies.

The US central bank has warned about the health of the global economy, while there are continuing signs that the world's biggest crude producers will continue to pump oil at high volumes.

According to a US government report, the country's oil production has fallen in recent weeks to about 9.1 million barrels per day last week from an average of 9.6 million barrels per day between late May and mid-July.

The light sweet crude oil contract for October delivery on the Nymex (WTI) floor closed on September 18 at $44.68/barrel, down $2.22/barrel, or 4.7% - marking the sharpest decline since September 1 in both price and percentage.

Meanwhile, Brent oil futures for November delivery on the ICE Futures exchange fell $1.61 a barrel (3.3%) to $47.47 a barrel, bringing the total decline for the week to 3.2%.

However, the average oil price this week stood at 46 USD/barrel, still higher than last week's 45 USD./.

According to VOV