The across-the-board reduction brought 92, 95 and 98-octane petrol to $1.763, $1.796 and $1.87 a litre respectively before discount.

Ultra-premium fuels Shell V-Power and Caltex Platinum are $1.999 and $1.996 respectively.

Diesel is now $1.553 a litre.

Crude oil futures plunged to a 16-month low of US$66.75 a barrel on Wednesday as the global financial crisis continued to reduce actual demand as well as dampened speculative trading by hedge funds.

But prices recovered slightly on news that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) would meet on Friday to discuss a production cut.

Crude oil for Dec delivery rose on Thursday to US$67.81 (S$101.90) a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices are now below levels seen in Aug 2005, when Hurricane Katrina sent crude oil past what was then the psychological barrier of US$70 a barrel.