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| Oil prices drop to four-year low | Oil prices drop to four-year low |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Oil and share prices fell further in early European trade as fears deepened over prospects for the global economy. | Oil and share prices fell further in early European trade as fears deepened over prospects for the global economy. |
| The Brent crude benchmark fell $1.65 to $88.40 a barrel, a price not seen since November 2010. | |
| The head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, crystallised investors' worries about flagging economic growth when she warned the eurozone could slip back into recession. | The head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, crystallised investors' worries about flagging economic growth when she warned the eurozone could slip back into recession. |
| London's FTSE 100 share index was down 47.73, or 0.74%, at 6384.12 points. | |
| Shares in Paris and Frankfurt were down a similar amount. | Shares in Paris and Frankfurt were down a similar amount. |
| The falls came after big declines in the US and Asia. On Thursday, the Dow Jones had its biggest one-day fall of the year, closing down almost 2% at 16,659.25. | |
| In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei closed down 1.15% at a two-month low of 15,300.55. | |
| US oil fell $1.92 a barrel to $83.85, its weakest level since June 2012. Both oil benchmarks have lost about 20% since their peak in June. | |
| Oil prices have been undermined by a combination of increasing supplies and weakening demand. | |
| Libya has recently increased its supply of oil to the open market, and demand from China, the world's second biggest user of oil, has slipped as its economic growth has slackened off. | |
| Investors 'spooked' | |
| This week, German economic data has presented a consistently negative picture. Figures released on Thursday showed exports fell 5.8% in August, and this followed weak industrial output figures on Tuesday. | |
| The International Monetary Fund's comments that there was a 35-40% chance of the eurozone re-entering recession piled on the woes. | The International Monetary Fund's comments that there was a 35-40% chance of the eurozone re-entering recession piled on the woes. |
| Its downgrade of prospects for the three biggest eurozone countries' economies, Italy, France and Germany, prompted the Chancellor, George Osborne, to warn the UK economy was facing a "critical moment". | |
| He told the BBC: "The eurozone risks slipping back into crisis. Britain cannot be immune from that. It's already having an impact on our manufacturing and our exports." | |
| The IMF also cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015. | The IMF also cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015. |
| Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers, said: "Concerns around the lack of global economic growth are spooking investors. | |
| "In particular, the situation in China remains unclear, whilst within the eurozone, even the supposed powerhouse of Germany could be staring into another recession." | |
| Added to that are persistent worries about the geo-political situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as growing concerns about the Ebola virus and its impact on West Africa and its spread into other countries. |