Oil prices drop to lowest levels since 2008 financial crisis

The last time Brent light crude oil traded at $56.74 a barrel, the world was in the grips of the 2008-09 financial crisis. But that's where international oil prices fell to on Tuesday before recovering slightly to $57.70. Analysts say that large supplies of high-quality light crude oil, especially from U.S. fracking, and rising alternative sources of power are outweighing shortages in some OPEC nations, especially Libya, where damage from warring factions has reduced oil output close to zero and left the country's infrastructure looking like this:

U.S. light crude also hit a five-and-a-half year low of $52.70 on Tuesday, before ticking up to $53.41 a barrel. Analysts don't expect oil prices, about half of where they were six months ago, to reverse their slide anytime soon.

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