Oil prices fell more than $1 to below $59 a barrel today, slipping towards a seven-week low on concerns about the state of the global economy as equities markets tumbled.

Oil prices dropped 11 percent last week in their biggest weekly decline since late January as investors talked of the possibility of another dip in economic activity before the onset of recovery, which could delay a rebound in demand for fuel.

Crude oil for August delivery was down 50 cents at $59.39 by 0837 GMT, after earlier falling $1.01 to a low of $58.88. London Brent fell 40 cents to $60.12.

"Economic concerns are continuing to weigh on oil prices. The rally we saw last month was clearly overdone," said Daniel Liu, an energy strategist at MF Global Singapore Pte Ltd.

"We believe oil prices will see a further correction to fall to around $55, before they bounce up when confidence on the global economy returns to the market."

Oil shot up 40 percent last quarter and touched an eight-month high of above $73 a barrel as investors shrugged off weak fundamentals and banked on swift global economic recovery.

But a recent slew of bearish data around the globe, which suggested that some of the world's largest economies were still struggling, prompted a sell-off in both oil and equities.