Global markets hit as oil prices slide again

Sterling weakest since 2009

Markets around the world followed oil price falls today after Saudi Arabia effectively ruled out hopes of future oil production cuts.

The FTSE 100 was down 1.7% at 5,856 points, while the S&P 500 fell 1.3% to 1,896 points in afternoon trading. The Euro Stoxx 50 index was trading 2.7% lower at 2,809, with the Shanghai Composite being the only country index trading in positive territory, up 0.9% at 2,929. The falls come after Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali Al-Naimi said yesterday markets should not view agreements between four major oil producers to freeze production at January levels as a precursor to a cut in OPEC production. Following Al-Naimi's comments, the price of Brent Crude fell by over 2% to $32.57 a bar...