Oil goes below $45 a barrel

International crude oil prices plunged to fresh six-year lows at below $45 a barrel on Monday as Chinese stocks crashed, sparking concerns about global economic growth.

London Brent fell on Monday's trade to below $45 a barrel of nearly 160 litres for the first time in six years.

The basket of 12 crude oils of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) closed at $43 a barrel on Friday, compared to $44.13 on Thursday.

The Indian basket, comprising 73 percent sour-grade Dubai and Oman crude, and the balance in sweet-grade Brent, fell to $45.21 on Friday -- the lowest since $43.36 in January.

The fall in oil followed an 8.5 percent decline on the Shanghai Composite Index, further fuelling fears of a sharp slowdown in the Chinese economy and its impact on global markets. China is the world's second-largest consumer of oil after the US.

Chinese stocks crashed on Monday pulling down the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index 8.45 percent to close at 3,211.2 points. The Shenzhen Component Index also shed 7.27 percent to end at 10,983.42 points.

The Hong Kong stocks also dived for the 7th consecutive trading session on Monday.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) lost as much as 1,624.51 points, or 5.94 percent -- which was the steepest in terms of points, surpassing the previous highest closing loss of 1,408.35 points on Jan 21, 2008.

Analysts said weak global cues emanating from a continuous slide in the Chinese markets, along with concerns over the stalled domestic economic reforms programme were the main reasons for Monday's mayhem.