By Dan Molinski and Sarah McFarlane

--U.S. oil prices fell more than 5% to under $47 a barrel Tuesday on continued worries over a drop in demand if the global economy slows and recent data showing rising production from major producers that may lead to a glut.

--West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. oil standard, were down 2.7% at $48.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell to as low as $46.97 intra-day.

-- Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading down 1.5% at $58.72 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange, having earlier sunk to $57.20, its lowest level since October 2017.

 HIGHLIGHTS 
 

Global markets: European and Asian stocks fell Tuesday following a sharp drop Monday on Wall Street, with investors nervous about the outlook for global economic growth. That led oil to decline overnight, and although U.S. stock markets rebounded some Tuesday oil prices have kept falling into the New York session. "This is just a continuation of oil reeling lower on worries of slower economic growth that could impact demand next year," said Eugene McGillian, vice president of market research at Tradition Energy. "Also, we had U.S. data from the Drilling Productivity Report yesterday that points to production continuing to rise into next year."

 
   INSIGHT 
 

Rising output: News reports Monday, which were negative for oil prices, included data showing Russian crude production was higher in the first two weeks of December versus November and the return of the Buzzard field in the North Sea after supply disruption, said Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS Wealth Management. Meanwhile, plans by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output are yet to be implemented. "The cuts will only be implemented in January, we're still in December, the only one that's cutting is Saudi Arabia," said Mr. Staunovo.

Shale Growth: Data Monday from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's monthly Drilling Productivity Report showed U.S. oil production from seven key shale regions is expected to rise to a record-high 8.2 million barrels a day next month, versus 8 million this month. It also showed shale regions continue to increase the amount of so-called DUCs -- drilled-but-uncompleted wells -- which means they will continue to be able to ramp up production. "EIA's latest drilling productivity report layers on bearishness, as producers keep getting more productive and building DUCs," said analysts at Baird in a research note Tuesday.

 
  AHEAD 
 

The American Petroleum Institute releases its weekly statistical bulletin at 4:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Write to Sarah McFarlane at sarah.mcfarlane@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2018 12:36 ET (17:36 GMT)