Brent falls below $50
Brent oil,
the benchmark that prices two-thirds of the world’s crude, fell below $50 a
barrel for the first time since May 2005 as global energy demand slumped.
Brent for
January settlement fell as much as 6.2 percent to $48.54, the lowest since May
25, 2005, today on London’s ICE Futures Europe Exchange.
Brent has
crashed 66 percent from a record $147.50 a barrel on July 11 as the credit
crisis spread through the global economy, cutting industrial output and
consumer spending.