LONDON : Oil prices continued to struggle under 50 dollars per barrel on Friday after they hit their lowest levels in almost four years on concerns over weakening demand and the prospect of a global recession.

The New York contract for light sweet crude for delivery in January gained a marginal five cents to 49.47 dollars.

Earlier Friday, New York crude fell to 48.25 dollars -- the lowest point since May 2005.

On London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for January dipped 21 cents to 47.87 dollars.

The Brent contract had earlier dropped to 47.40 dollars, its lowest level since February 2005.

Oil on Thursday tumbled under 50 dollars for the first time since early 2005 as plunging equities and weak US economic data sparked fresh concern that a global recession would slash demand, traders said.

Oil prices have plunged two-thirds since striking record highs above 147 dollars in July when fears of supply disruptions had helped to send them rocketing.

The fall below 50 dollars reflects an assumption that demand will be affected not only in Western countries but in China and India, whose rapid growth was a also major force pushing prices to record highs earlier this year, said Jason Feer of energy market analysts Argus Media.

"The market is fully internalising the realisation that the coming recession is going to be pretty significant and is likely to affect demand in some of the emerging countries that have been propping up the market," Feer said.

Analysts said sentiment has been further hammered by a dismal unemployment report in the United States, the world's biggest energy consumer.

US unemployment claims have jumped to a 16-year high, offering more evidence the world's largest economy is sliding into a recession, joining the European Union.

"The dominant influence remains ... sagging demand," said David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"Our current view is that oil prices may face further downside in the next few weeks. The economic outlook is poor in the coming year, so oil consumption could weaken further ... concerns about slowing consumption will remain prominent," said Moore, quoted by Dow Jones Newswires.

Action should meanwhile be taken to halt the decline in oil prices, Libya's OPEC representative told AFP on Friday.

Nevertheless, Shukri Ghanem -- the head of Libya's national oil firm and its envoy to the OPEC oil cartel -- did not explicitly repeat his call for oil production to be cut when the organisation meets in Cairo on November 29.

Ghanem said the group should examine whether the fall in prices was the result of weaker consumption or of speculators liquidating their positions in the market.

"The oil market needs some kind of action," he said., but added: "Of course the falling price hits our earnings but we're not worried because it can't last. We expect a turnaround."

Last month, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its official oil output quota by 1.5 million barrels a day from November 1 but it had no lasting impact on prices.

- AFP /ls