AFP, Singapore :
Crude prices tumbled Friday, with Brent hitting a four-year low on concerns about the global economy while the head of the IMF warned the eurozone could slip back into recession.
Brent’s November contract was trading at $88.40 a barrel in afternoon Asian trade, down $1.65 dollars the day before and at levels last seen in November 2010. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was down $1.92 to $83.85, its weakest level since June 2012.
Prices of both contracts have lost about a fifth of their value since hitting their 2014 peaks in June.
Friday’s losses come as equities markets suffer another heavy sell-off.
A fresh round of negative eurozone data showed a 5.8 percent slump in German exports in August, while leading think tanks also slashed their growth forecasts for Europe’s largest economy.
Adding to concerns, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned Thursday that there was a 35-40 percent chance of the eurozone slipping back into recession if action is not taken to prevent it. The Fund this week cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015.
In the United States, a closely monitored report showed rising crude inventories, signalling weakening demand in the world’s top oil consuming nation.
Prices have also been dampened by ample global supplies owing to increased US shale gas production and a return to the market of Libyan oil following a prolonged disruption due to civil unrest.
“The price falls are largely attributed to weak demand and oversupply fears which have been aggravated by global growth concerns and the restoration of Libya’s oil production,” Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.
