•Global crude futures were trading significantly weaker at one-year lows Friday during European trading, supported by a massive sell-off in gasoil futures and the spillover effect of turmoiled financial markets. ICE front-month crude futures were trading $3.75/barrel lower at $78.91/b at 10:18 GMT and the ICE October gasoil was down $44.00/mt at $744.50/mt ahead of its expiry as the front-month contract.

•While trading was relatively subdued, futures extended Asian losses as weak equity markets continued to put down-pressure on commodities trading. The bearish market sentiment was also supported by weak demand fundamentally. World stock markets plummet to five-year lows, with double-digit losses in Frankfurt, London and Tokyo, as fears grow that the worst of the global financial crisis is yet to come, AFP reported.

•The International Energy Agency Friday slashed its estimates of world oil demand in the second half of 2008 and in 2009 as a result of the ongoing financial crisis. The Paris-based agency now expects demand in the developed countries of the OECD to fall by more than 1 million b/d this year.

Updated: October 10, 2008