Plunging oil prices spark emergency Opec meet
Oil prices sank this week to three-and-a-half-year lows close to 50 dollars a barrel, prompting the Opec exporters' cartel to call an emergency meeting to discuss a mooted output cut.
Commodity markets took a heavy knock as recession swept across the world's advanced economies, with the eurozone, as well as Italy and Germany, all recording two straight quarters of negative economic growth.
"We believe the depth and duration of the current economic downturn will sustain downward pressure on metal and energy prices into 2009," said Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Lewis.
"We view any recovery in commodity prices, and specifically energy and metal prices, as a 2010 event."
OIL: The price of crude oil fell sharply as the International Energy Agency warned that global energy demand was being severely crimped by the effects of approaching worldwide recession.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December on Thursday dived to 50.60 dollars a barrel -- the lowest level since May 2005.
At the same time, New York's light sweet crude for December delivery slid to 54.67 dollars, a level last seen in January 2007.
Crude prices have collapsed by about two-thirds since striking record peaks above 147 dollars in July, on concern that a prolonged global recession could slam the brakes on energy demand.
That, in turn, has sparked alarm among the Opec cartel, whose member nations pump 40 percent of the world's crude supplies, because their oil revenues have been slashed.
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