VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Crude oil prices on tumbled on Monday, with global grades settling down more than $1 a barrel after an early rally fizzled and prices fell to their lowest levels since May 2009.

Oil edged above $60 a barrel on Friday as unrest in Libya cut supplies, offsetting a growing supply glut in top consumer the United States and weak imports by Japan.

Brent crude futures held above $60 a barrel on Friday as strong U.S. economic data supported the market, but oil prices were track for their fifth straight weekly decline as a building supply glut capped gains.

Brent crude held steady above $61 a barrel on Thursday, bringing a sharp drop in prices to a temporary halt as companies are forced to cut upstream investments around the world.

The ruble plunged more than 10 percent for the second day on Tuesday and recorded its worst fall since the Russian financial crisis in 1998 as confidence in the central bank evaporated after an ineffectual overnight rate hike.

Oil fell to just above $59 a barrel for the first time since May 2009 on Tuesday, extending a six-month selloff as slowing Chinese factory activity and weakening emerging-market currencies added to concerns about demand.

Oil producers group OPEC can ride out a slump in oil prices and keep output unchanged, its head said on Sunday, arguing market weakness did not reflect supply and demand fundamentals and could have been driven by speculators.

Global demand for OPEC crude in 2015 is expected to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade and far below current output, the group said on Wednesday, pointing to a hefty supply surplus without OPEC output cuts or a slowdown in the U.S. shale boom.

The S&P 500 ended nearly flat on Tuesday as concerns about global weakness and political turmoil were offset by gains in technology and energy shares.

U.S. stocks dipped on Monday, after soft data in China and Japan raised global growth concerns, while a further drop in oil prices weighed on energy shares.

European stocks and government bonds dipped on Monday as weak data from Asia, a rating downgrade for Italy and the slump in oil prices stoked concerns about global growth.

European stocks, low-rated government bonds and the single currency all rose on Monday as financial markets gave a tentative thumbs-up to euro zone bank health checks.

Asian equities rose on Monday, taking heart from upbeat earnings and economic data that eased recent global growth fears and sharpened risk appetite, while the dollar advanced to a three-week high against the yen.

Asian stocks clawed back some of this week's losses on Friday after a solid set of U.S. data calmed turbulence in global financial markets, though underlying worries about slowing world economic growth kept investors on edge.

Brent crude prices marked their biggest decline in more than three years on Tuesday and U.S. and German debt attracted buyers on lingering anxiety over world economic growth.