CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--As the global financial crisis intensified Friday, crude oil futures responded by sliding below $78 a barrel. November crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $8.89 to settle at $77.70 a barrel. That represents at 17% drop on the week and was the lowest settlement since Sept. 10, 2007. Oil prices fell along with commodities from copper to corn, as well as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which spent most of the day down sharply before recovering to end down about 1%. Turmoil in the financial sector has resulted in a frozen credit market, cutting companies in the wider economy off from borrowing and threatening economic growth worldwide. The oil market is waiting to see how much the global economic downturn will impact demand. The International Energy Agency slashed its 2009 forecast for demand growth Friday by nearly 40%, to a 700,000 barrel-a-day increase. Even that reduction does not factor in a decline in China's economic growth, a possibility that grows more likely should potential export markets enter recession. "Combine the [demand] pressure with the obvious financial pressure in this market, and there's no support in any...commodities," said Darin Newsom, senior analyst with DTN, a market information service. Activity In Other Key Commodity Markets: SILVER: Silver futures on the Comex division of Nymex were caught in a downdraft with other commodities, with the most-active December losing $1.275 to settle at $10.60 an ounce. The white metal drew some safe-haven buying this week with gold, but lagged due to worries about industrial demand in a slowing economy. COPPER: Comex copper Futures hit their lowest point in more than two years while equities markets skidded. The industrial metal remains bleak as the financial crisis bleeds into the wider economy. Nearby October copper fell 26.75 cents to $2.1565 a pound after reaching as low as $2.1225, the weakest front-month price since January 2006. Most-active December copper shed 26.15 cents to $2.1445 a pound. -By Angie Pointer, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4075; angie.pointer@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=pz0rU6jVsz%2FDfuqi3KLR1g%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.

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