World oil prices plummeted as the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for world oil demand for a fourth straight month.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, shed 1.13 dollars to 57.80 dollars a barrel, its lowest close since July 21.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for December delivery dived 1.20 dollars to end at 55.68 dollars a barrel.

The Paris-based IEA, which coordinates energy policy for many European governments, revised downward its forecast of global oil demand for 2005 from 83.4 million barrels per day to 83.3 million barrels per day. The agency also cut its estimate for 2006 world oil demand to 85.01 million barrels a day, down 140,000 barrels. Consumption is expected to rise 1.5 percent this year and 2 percent in 2006.

IEA said global oil supply rose by 865,000 barrels per day to 84.4 million barrels per day on increases from North America, the North Sea, countries in the former Soviet Union and Brazil.

The restart of storm-damaged refineries in the Gulf of Mexico continues. The US Minerals Management Service, which manages offshore oil and gas exploration, said Thursday 49.09 percent of daily oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was still not operating, which amounts to 736,279 barrels per day. Less than 50 percent of the gulf's gas production still remained offline, at 40.16 percentor equal to 4.016 billion cubic feet per day.