Oil just closed below $50 a barrel for the first time in nearly six years

Crude oil prices closed below $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009, as the global selloff showed few signs of abating. Oil prices have tumbled roughly 60% since June, amid a boom in US production and a slowdown in energy hungry emerging market economies such as China. Today’s tumble was exacerbated by high-profile forecasts for further price declines from Goldman Sachs and Société Générale.