Oil prices were steady near four-year lows below $44 a barrel Friday in Asia as more bad U.S. economic news soured the outlook for global growth and demand for crude. Light, sweet crude for January delivery was down 3 cents at $43.64 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning in Singapore. The contract fell overnight $3.12 to settle at $43.67, the lowest since January 2005. "The damage to the economy by the financial turmoil is much bigger than the market initially thought," said Tetsu Emori.

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