U.S. oil price drops below $28 in Asia

The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for February delivery, fell as low as 27.92 U.S. dollars a barrel before recovering slightly. WTI was trading at 27.96 U.S. dollars a barrel, down 50 cents, or 1.76 percent, as of 02:00 am GMT.

The last time WTI finished under 28 U.S. dollars was in September 2003.