Oil prices fell this evening as a deepening US recession shrank demand in the world's top fuel consumer and evidence mounted of a global downturn.
Figures showed that US consumers cut spending for a sixth straight month in December as their incomes shrank.
US crude fell 58 cents to $41.10 a barrel, while London Brent crude shed $1.08 to $44.80.
A report from the US Energy Information Administration on Friday showed that US oil demand in November was 305,000 barrels per day (bpd) less than previously estimated and was down 1.577 million bpd from a year earlier.
Slowing consumption has swollen fuel stocks and helped knock more than $100 a barrel off the price of crude since its July peak near $150.
