Crude oil prices continued to fall on Tuesday hitting new lows below $55 a barrel, due to the continued negative impact of statements from Saudi Arabia and UAE, along with IEA lowering forecasts of demand for oil on Friday. Saudi Arabia statements indicated there was no need to cut oil production levels, while UAE’s remarks indicated that it’s ineffective to cut output even if prices reached $40 a barrel. The preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came below forecasts for December, contributing to the ongoing fall of oil prices. The continued recovery of the US economy failed to support oil prices, as the economies of major energy consumers are in a state of economic slowdown, indicating the continued weakness in demand that reflected negatively on prices. Oil prices will almost reach $40 a barrel without any interference from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to adjust global oil market. Crude oil futures for delivery in January traded around $55.34 a barrel at 08:15 GMT after dropping 1.66%. Brent crude fell below $61.06 a barrel for the first time since July 2009 on Tuesday.