Oil price dips below $90 a barrel

Oil prices have fallen to an eight-month low of less than US $90 a barrel.

Analysts say the decline reflects concern that the financial crisis in the US and Europe will lead to a global slowdown and a drop in demand for oil.

Shares on Gulf stock markets also fell fallen sharply. Shares in banks and building contractors were among those hardest hit.

The Saudi Arabian stock market, the largest in the Arab world, dropped more than 9%.

Other markets saw falls of between 4 and 6% – Dubai was 4.5% down, Abu Dhabi and Qatar 4%, while Kuwait shed 3.5% and Oman dipped 6%.

The sharp falls, the biggest single-day losses in several years, came on the first day of trading after the Eid al-Fitr holiday that ends the month of Ramadan.