A BP oil and gas platform in the British North Sea Oil prices are on course for their largest annual slide since 2008, capping another dire year for commodities, as crude fell again on Tuesday to hover at close to half its level of six months ago. Brent’s 49 per cent plummet since June — alongside a near halving of iron ore prices and sharp drops in coal and copper — has also helped drag the Bloomberg Commodity index down 15.6 per cent in 2014 to a five-year low. While the international benchmark’s price plunge could prove a significant boon for the global economy, it has thrown big oil exporters such as Russia and Venezuela into disarray, and forced oil companies to re-examine their investment plans and look for ways to reduce costs. In a sign of how the oil majors are scrambling to make savings, BP , Royal […]