LONDON, Dec 18: Oil prices tumbled on Thursday to the lowest points for more than four years, diving under $38 per barrel in New York, as traders suggested that Opec would not fully enforce a record output cut.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for delivery in January dived to $37.68 a barrel ahead of the contract’s expiry on Friday. The low point was last seen in July 2004.

On London’s InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for February sank as low as $44.30.

In later deals, New York crude stood at $38.55, down $1.51 from the close on Wednesday. Brent oil was 53 cents down at $45 per barrel.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which produces about 40 per cent of the world’s crude, approved a record output cut on Wednesday of 2.2 million barrels a day.

However, the decision failed to prevent prices plunging even further, as rising US energy reserves also heightened global demand worries amid a sharp worldwide economic slowdown.

“The verdict (of falling prices) was a resounding vote of no-confidence in the cartel’s ability to curtail production given its previous tendencies to backslide on commitments, particularly by countries who are financially strapped,” said MF Global oil analyst Ed Meir.