Oil prices drop close to 50 dollars

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices dropped on Wednesday, with Brent crude falling close to 50 dollars a barrel, as demand for energy weakens worldwide and as the market awaits data on the health of US crude stockpiles.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January was down 82 cents at 51.02 dollars a barrel in morning trade on London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE).

Earlier it touched 50.61 dollars.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for December delivery slipped 70 cents to 53.69 dollars a barrel.

Oil prices have plunged almost two-thirds since striking record highs of above 147 dollars in July as a global economic slowdown dents world energy demand.

Prices in London had already last week slumped to three-and-a-half-year lows close to 50 dollars, prompting the OPEC exporters' cartel to call an emergency meeting in Cairo to discuss output levels.

Later on Wednesday, the US Department of Energy publishes its latest weekly snapshot of energy inventories in the United States, the world's biggest oil consuming nation.