PR: Crude oil futures tumble 3.41% on weak Asian trend
In addition to worries about global oversupply, concerns are growing that China's economy could slow further and cut demand in the world's second-largest oil consumer.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 1 percent, and Japan's Nikkei sank 1.1 percent.
With U.S. markets closed for the Martin Luther King Day holiday, equity bulls were relying on Europe to fight back from the worst ever start to a year.
In the currency markets, the dollar index, which tracks the USA unit against a basket of six counterparts, was down about 0.1 percent at 99.025.
