Asian markets fall on oil price plunge, China trade data

Oil prices struggled at seven-year lows Tuesday, sending Asian energy firms plunging in line with their US and European counterparts after OPEC's decision to maintain output dimmed hopes for a recovery in the black gold.

Another tumble in Chinese imports and exports exacerbated the decline on regional markets, reinforcing worries about the state of the world economy as Washington considers raising US interest rates.

A global supply glut, weak demand and the growth slowdown in China have combined with soaring production to send crude slumping more than 60 percent over the past 18 months.

Investors had been hoping that with the market increasingly tight, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could find a way to ease output and release some pressure on prices.

However, the cartel's six-monthly meeting Friday ended without agreement between bickering members to make any cuts, which in turn battered global markets.

On Monday US benchmark West Texas Intermediate sank 5.8 percent and Brent crude shed 5.3 percent -- hitting levels not seen since February 2009. WTI had tumbled 2.7 percent and Brent lost 1.9 percent Friday.

US giant ExxonMobil, France's Total and Italy's Eni all fell between two and three percent, with many smaller producers and oil-services companies suffering even bigger drops.

And Asian firms continued those losses as crude failed to recover. 

Hong Kong-listed Chinese giant CNOOC ended down 3.5 percent, while PetroChina closed off two percent in Shanghai.