IMF chief Lagarde warns of disappointing global growth in 2016 – as it happened

Closing summary

It has been a pretty glum day on European stock markets, in the wake of the 2% slide in Brent crude oil prices towards 11-year lows. IMF chief Christine Lagarde’s warning of disappointing global growth next year added to the sombre mood.

The FTSE 100 index in London is down nearly 50 points, or 0.8%, at 6265.66
The Dax in Frankfurt has slid almost 120 points, or 1.1%, to 10,743.01
The CAC 40 in Paris has lost 23 points, or 0.5%, to 4678

On Wall Street,

the Dow Jones is down 0.3% at 17,674.86
the Nasdaq is down 0.4% at 5087.39
the S&P 500 is down 0.3% at 2072.98

Away from the financial markets, Apple has agreed to pay £234m to settle an Italian tax dispute and UK house prices accelerated to an eight-month high in December, according to Nationwide building society, which is predicting further rises of 3-6% next year, even if interest rates go up as expected by the summer.

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Brent crude sliding towards 11-year lows again

Yesterday’s rally in oil prices (sparked by colder temperatures in Europe and north America) proved to be short-lived. Brent crude is sliding again towards 11-year lows after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said the kingdom – the world’s top oil producer – had no plans to scale back production.

The comments from Ali al-Naimi, coupled with slowing global energy demand (partly due to China’s slowing economy) and record high inventories, put further pressure on oil prices. Brent crude, the world benchmark, is down 1.6% on the day at $37.19 a barrel while New York crude has lost 2% to $37.11.

Soaring output from the OPEC cartel, Russia and the US has created a global oil glut of between half a million and 2 million barrels a day, sending crude prices plummeting. They have lost two thirds since the middle of last year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, al-Naimi told reporters:

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