Oil producers prepare for prices to halve to $20 a barrel
by Larry Elliott from on (#X2GQ)
Financial market turmoil sees fresh slide in crude, lowest iron ore prices for a decade and losses on global stock markets
The world's leading oil producers are preparing for the possibility of oil prices halving to $20 a barrel after a second day of financial market turmoil saw a fresh slide in crude, the lowest iron ore prices in a decade, and losses on global stock markets.
Benchmark Brent crude briefly dipped below $40 a barrel for the first time since February 2009 before speculators took profits on the 8% drop in the cost of crude since last week's abortive attempt by the oil cartel Opec to steady the market.
