World oil prices fell heavily as traders sought to limit their exposure to high-risk investments amid continued stock market uncertainty.
The oil market also tracked news from Royal Dutch Shell, which said a major oil spill in a production facility in southern Nigeria had reduced output by 187,000 barrels per day.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery tumbled $1.53 to $60.55 per barrel in electronic deals. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, slid $1.46 to $60.18 per barrel in floor trading.
European and Asian share prices plunged again today as turbulent trading conditions stretched into a second week. However, Wall Street rebounded following initial sharp losses.
In Nigeria a Shell official told AFP newswire that there had been a spill at Nembe Creek Trunk Line, which led to a total output loss of 187,000 barrels per day.
Shell, Nigeria's major oil operator, accounting for around half of the country's daily output of some 2.6 million barrels, was already losing some 477,000 barrels because of the unrest in the Niger Delta.
Since January 2006, separatist groups seeking a larger share of Nigeria's oil wealth have renewed their violence against oil firms, personnel and related business interests in the region.
