•The markets had earlier opened higher as Asian market players woke up to read Bernanke's comments. "In light of recent changes in the outlook for and the risks to growth, additional policy easing may be necessary," Bernanke said. "We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks," he added.

•A tanker exploded on Friday and caught fire while discharging petroleum products at a port in the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt, police sources said.

•A selloff occurred during mid-morning European trading as the bearish flavour of the week took hold once again. Since the $100/barrel level was finally breached late last week crude futures have fallen around 6-7% as product stocks in the US climb but demand remains stagnant. This has pushed many market players into lightening their long positions.

Updated: January 11, 2008