LONDON, Nov 4: The Brent crude oil price sank under $59 per barrel on Tuesday on concerns over weak energy demand in Europe and the United States, dealers said.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery plunged to $58.38 in electronic trading, hitting the lowest point since February 2007.

The contract later stood at $58.89 a barrel, down $1.59 from the close on Monday.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, fell $1.30 to 62.61 on Tuesday.

Prices had dropped sharply on Monday, losing about four dollars as traders digested fresh evidence that pointed towards a sharp global economic slowdown.

The European Commission warned that the worst financial crisis for generations has driven the EU economy into recession and growth will come close to a standstill in 2009.

The 15 countries sharing the euro have slumped into the first technical recession -- defined by economists as two or more consecutive quarters of contraction -- since the bloc was formed in 1999, the Commission estimated.

In the United States, the world’s largest energy consumer, manufacturing activity in October fell to its lowest level in 26 years, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Monday.

“The further collapse in the ISM manufacturing index to a 26-year low... confirmed that the US economy is now in a severe recession that will be one of the worst in the post-war era,” research house Capital Economics said.—AFP