Oil hits new 5-year low on firm dollar, Saudi price cuts

London

OIL struck fresh five-year low points last week on the back of the strong US dollar, oversupply fears and major producer Saudi Arabia slashing its export prices. The market had already plunged the week before after Opec left its output ceiling unchanged, despite a global supply glut.

Crude futures have now slumped by about 40 per cent since June, faced also with cheaper oil being extracted from North American shale rock.

Weak economic data has added to the pressure, with worse-than-expected manufacturing figures in China, the world's largest energy consumer.

Commodities were also hit late Friday a…