Stock markets worldwide have tumbled with investors unsettled by the continued slide in oil prices and fears about the impact on global growth.
According to BBC News, Europe’s main markets closed sharply down, led by the FTSE 100, which sank 3.46%.
In afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq indexes were close to 3% down.
The downwards move came after oil prices continued to slide, with the price of international benchmark Brent Crude down 2.4% at $28.08 a barrel, around a 12-year low.
The oil price has plummeted 75% since mid-2014 as oversupply, mainly due to US shale oil flooding the market, has driven down the cost of the commodity. At the same time, demand has fallen because of a slowdown in economic growth in China and Europe.
The International Energy Agency, which advises countries on energy policy, said it expected the global glut to last until at least late 2016.
