Recession likely to fuel another roller-coaster ride for oil in 2009

It was the year that broke the banks and the back of the global economy. For oil prices, it was the year of the superspike.

And for governments and companies making plans for the year ahead, it was a year that bequeathed them a massive dilemma: whether to count on oil prices staying near their current level of below US$40 barrel

Starting this year with a bang, crude prices thrust into triple-digit territory on Jan 2, the first day of trading, setting the scene for an unprecedented rally to nearly $150 a barrel seven months later. At the close of the year, that rally fizzled just as dramatically, leaving producers and consumers alike pondering whether the oil boom was just taking a breather or had gone bust.