Oil hits five-and-a-half-year low below $57

Brent crude oil fell to a 5-1/2-year low of less than $57 a barrel Tuesday as a global supply glut outweighed concerns of lost supply from Libya where battling militias have closed ports. The North Sea oil benchmark recovered some ground later but was on track for its weakest month since the global financial crisis of 2008, and traders said the sell-off that has halved crude prices in six months showed no sign of coming to an end. Brent LCOc1 fell $1.14 a barrel to $56.74, its lowest since May 2009, before recovering to trade around $57.70 by 1215 GMT.  US crude CLc1 fell 20 cents to $53.41 after hitting $52.70 - also its lowest since May 2009. Oil markets have been heavily oversupplied this year due to increasing output of high quality, light oil from US shale and lower-than-expected consumption as a result of faltering global economic growth and competition from alternative fuels. Several members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have suffered supply disruptions in recent months, but this has had little impact on prices, according to a news agency.