Oil prices tumble amid recession fears

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices fell sharply on Friday, driven by mounting fears that aggressive central bank tightening could induce a recession and hurt demand for energy.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery decreased 4.75 U.S. dollars, or 5.7 percent, to settle at 78.74 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery lost 4.31 dollars, or 4.8 percent, to settle at 86.15 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Both the WTI and Brent finished at their lowest levels since January, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

For the week, the U.S. crude benchmark dropped 7.1 percent, while Brent declined 5.7 percent, based on the front-month contracts.