Oil slid to below $40 a barrel on Thursday as further evidence of slowing demand trumped OPEC’s biggest ever production cut, Reuters has reported.

US light crude for January delivery, which expires on Friday, fell 42 cents to $39.64 a barrel by 10am UAE time, after falling to $39.19 earlier in the session, the lowest since July 2004, and following an 8% overnight drop.

Oil fell for a third day on Tuesday, dropping almost $1 to near a 17-month low on fears of a global recession, reported Reuters. US light crude for December delivery fell 92 cents or 1.4% to $62.30 a barrel by early Tuesday after touching a low of $61.30 a barrel on Tuesday, its weakest since May 2007.

The price of crude oil continued to fall as the effects of market forecasts, lessening demand and a stronger dollar were felt on the indices. Crude oil for September delivery fell 69 cents, or 0.6%, to $113.76 a barrel, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to Bloomberg. Oil has now fallen 23% from its July high.