Oil prices drop 4% on oversupply, equities sell-off and darkening outlook

Both crude oil benchmarks have shed more than 30 per cent since early October due to swelling global inventories

Oil prices fell 4 per cent on Tuesday after reports of swelling inventories and forecasts of record US and Russian output combined with a sharp sell-off in stock markets as the outlook for global growth deteriorated.

US crude oil dropped $2.04, or 4.1 per cent, to a low of $47.84, its weakest since September 2017, before recovering to around $48.55 by 1140 GMT.

North Sea Brent crude lost $2.41, or 4.0 per cent, to $57.20, a 14-month low. It last traded around $58.21, down $1.40.

Both crude oil benchmarks have shed more than 30 per cent since early October due to swelling global