Oil stumbles

Singapore

Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday as vote counting showed Donald Trump edging close to winning the U.S. presidential election, throwing world markets into turmoil in a result reminiscent of June´s Brexit vote.

Crude futures markets roared into action, with trading accelerating as Europe joined Asia, as Trump surprised by defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in a series of key contests and opening a path to the White House.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell to a session low of $43.07 per barrel, down more than 4 percent from their last close and their lowest since September, before recovering to $44.18 a barrel by 0712 GMT. Brent futures were down 1.7 percent at $45.26 a barrel.

"This is deja vu of the Brexit moment, very worrying," said Bob Takai, president at Sumitomo Corp Global Research in Tokyo, referring to Britain´s surprise vote to leave the European Union in a referendum last June, which led to market turmoil.