Crude tumbles 20% since June to reach four year lows

Prices have taken the hit as plentiful supply and weak growth take toll

Crude oil prices tumbled to four-year lows in mid-October as ample global supply, slowing demand and a strong US dollar all weighed on values. Brent and WTI were trading around $85.56 a barrel ($/b) and $82.65/b respectively on 20 October, having fallen by more than 20% since June. On 16 October Brent fell to a four -year low of $82.93/b as concerns over slowing global demand growth amid ample supply weighed on futures markets. WTI also fell to $79.78/b on 16 October, a level not seen since June 2012. The International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its forecast for global oil demand for this year by 200,000 barrels a day (b/d), to 92.4m b/d, because of expectations of weaker economic growth. Annua