The oil market became the latest to be swept up in Monday’s global market rout, with prices falling to their lowest levels in a month and a half amid growing worries that US-China tensions will weaken demand for crude.
The sell-off pulled Brent below the $60-a-barrel threshold on Monday for the first time since June. It sank 3.4 per cent to $59.81 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US oil marker, settled 1.7 per cent lower at $54.69.
Brent ended the day on the cusp of a bear market, which is defined as a fall of at least 20 per cent from its recent high.
The international benchmark is now down 19.8 per cent from its April peak of $74.57
